A view of the computer room in the Ewha-POSCO Building shows a malfuctioning computer -  a common problem on campus.
Malfunctioning computers on campus are becoming a common source of inconvenience for students. There are 962 computers in open computer labs, including 82 computers in the Centennial Library and 120 in the Ewha-POSCO Building. Also, 216 computers are provided on the major floors of the classroomsbuildings so that students can use computers when they come and go. However, students report that many of these computers are out of order and remain off. One computer on the seventh floor of the Ewha-POSCO Building has been turned off for more than one month. On May 7, among 10 computers on the first floor of the Hak-gwan, only four worked: two stayed off and four remained stopped at the stage of booting.
One cause of the inconvenience is that malfunctions are not reported right away to the teaching assistants in charge. A teaching assistant supervises the computer room in the Centennial Library from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., but the room itself is open for 24 hours. Most problems related to computers happen after the teaching assistant leaves the office. There is no bulletin board space or notebook where students can report a problem with a computer.
“When I arrive at the library in the morning, I check all the computers and then find some are not working. It’s hard to file all the reports right after the problems happen,” said Moon So-yeon, a teaching assistant for the computer room in the Centennial Library.
As for the computers provided on each floor of the classroom buildings, students don’t know exactly where to report problems.
“I sometimes encounter problems when I use computers in the Hak-gwan. But I cannot report the problems because I am not sure whom to talk to,” said Kang Phil-hyun (Korean Literature, 3). Students can ask the IT center to fix the problem or get advice. However, most students do not realize that their attention to computer maintanence can be so useful.
“Actually many students, including me, take it for granted that we will freely be able to use the computers on campus, and think someone else will take care of them,” Kang said.
According to the Office of Information and Communications (OIC), checkups are conducted daily to confirm whether computers boot properly, monthly to update OS (Windows) programs, and once during each vacation to enhance the overall function of the computer labs in general.
Yet, another problem occurs with food and drinks. Food and drinks are prohibited in all computer rooms because they can seriously damage keyboards, mouses, and the system units, but some students overlook such regulations.
“I think it is almost impossible to completely regulate food and drink. In most cases, teaching assistants warn students with food and ask them not to bring it here, but students do not listen,” said You Bo-ram, a teaching assistant for the computer room of the Ewha-POSCO Building. You said that there have been some incidents where a student spilled a beverage over a keyboard.
On the online bulletin board of Ewha Portal Information System, one student posted a request for further protection of computers such as vinyl guards for keyboards, mouse pads, and more supervision by teaching assistants.
“Keyboard skins usually come with keyboards when computers are purchased. Some users of computer rooms take them, and repurchasing such items is almost impossible at this stage because computers have keyboards with different standards. We have to replace keyboards themselves when old keyboards get severely dirty,” said Kim Ji-soo, a chief manager of the OIC. The office said taking caution in handling the computers and using common equipment responsibly is actually the most basic and effective way to ensure computers on campus function properly.
“When teaching assistants ask students not to bring any food, some students voice their complaints. But if the food is allowed, keyboards will get stained with coffee or juice, and other well-doing students suffer from that,” Kim said.

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