Written by Christian Wulff
Descending into the basement of Tutt, I couldn’t help but imagine that the man I was going to interview was in fact a computer. Relative to today’s reality of automated help services, text boxes, and pressing four for more options, this thought seems less far-fetched. A thick, tall mass of plastic with cold, technological organs complicated enough to discomfort 95 percent of humans on earth would be plugged in behind a desk. Its polished, steel pressed name plate would read, Chad Schonewill. Upon facial recognition it would say, “Hello. Student. I. Am. Chad. Schonewill.”
The point is that we often treat the hardworking men and women in the IT department as if they are as lifeless as the network they work on. The problems facing this school’s network come from deficiencies in human connection.
Our lack of perspective is at the heart of this problem. Chad Schonewill, Help Desk Team Leader, is not a computer. He is an ‘03 graduate English major who has worked for this school’s ITS team since 1999. What he told me about the process behind doubling our school’s bandwidth painted a picture of much needed perspective. The bandwidth doubling is just one step taken in a three-year overhaul of CC’s wireless network, which has not seen an upgrade of this kind since ‘07. Chad explains the necessity of an upgrade today by pointing out the explosion of personal media devices starting with the iPad. “We understand that today, it goes, food, water, and wifi. In a location where there might have been 30 connections, that is now 100,” said Chad.
The exponential growth in network connection caused traffic to more consistently hit the 1GB bandwidth ceiling the school held with Time Warner Cable. Chad explained further that perhaps the most important step in the process to make note of is ITS’ triumph in connecting up to SCON, the Southern Colorado Optical Network. SCON runs a loop throughout Colorado, under I-25.
Get ready for some perspective. “There were 18 months of railroad negotiations just so we could begin drilling into the network under I-25.” Chad paused to watch me digest and then continued, “SCON fiber is now our main network and we can switch to Time Warner if there are any problems.” Connecting to SCON will now make easier any bandwidth increases in the future. Chad assured me that while CC has never hit a 2GB ceiling, the IT world changes fast and they know they need to be ready to adapt.
As we reached the end of our conversation, Chad made it known to me the most important ways a student can help him and his ITS team work through network problems. “We encourage people to tell us when something has gone wrong. If students would tell us where, when, and their name, that helps,” said Chad. “We think IT is as all-knowing and pervasive as the very internet they protect, but that is simply not true. Behind Canvas, Netflix, or your debilitating Call of Duty addiction, there is a hardworking Colorado College employee that is as human as you or me. Recognizing this truth is the most important step towards a strong network, but more importantly a stronger community here at CC.
Guest Writer