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| AP Photo Illustration |
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| Computer labs around campus:
Almost every building on campus has at least one computer lab for student use.
# of Labs:
• Austin: 10
• Benson: 9
• Clarke: 5
• Kimball: 1
• Manwaring: 1
• McKay: 3
• Ricks: 2
• Romney: 7
• Smith: 11
• Spori: 2
Total: 51 |
# of Computers:
• Labs: 1005
• Library: 475
Total: 1480
# of Applications:
• More than 200
Helpful Hints:
• Don’t install applications
onto lab computers
• Be cautious of spyware
• Ask lab assistants for help
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For some assignments on campus, the pen is no longer mightier than the sword; the computer is.
Students from all departments on campus go to computer labs to complete assignments that require computers with special programs only found in labs.
Students said the most popular time in the labs are from mid-afternoon to around 7 p.m. Brian Jacques, a freshman from Rexburg and a lab assistant in the Thomas E. Ricks Building Psychology Lab, said he noticed that attendance in the labs slowed into the evening.
Brody Carlson, a senior from Murray, Utah, and a lab assistant in the Joseph Fielding Smith Building, agreed with Jacques on when the labs are most popular.
“The majority of complaints come in about no morning hours,” Carlson said.
Alison Anderson, a junior from Loganville, Ga., mentioned that she would like to see more Saturday hours.
Despite how busy the labs get, Anderson said students still find enough time to get to the lab and finish their assignments.
Miles Johnson, a sophomore from Salem, Ore., who uses labs in the Mark Austin Technology/Engineering Building, agreed that the labs have good hours. “There are enough lab hours to get my work done. It’s usually not very crowded,” he said.
Students also recognize that some labs get busier than others. Rebecca Alston, a junior from Mesa, Ariz., who is an assistant in the Ed-Tech lab, explained, “We don’t get as busy as computer science because we only serve a small number of classes as opposed to a larger number, such as 10, that they serve.”
For those who have trouble getting into crowded labs, Bonnie White, a sophomore from Chattanooga, Tenn., recommended students manage their time so they don’t need to use the labs during big rushes.
Doug Ricks, the campus computer lab manager, who is in charge of maintaining the campus’s Windows computer labs, works closely with departments to keep labs up to date and to meet student needs. “If a computer goes down, we can usually have it fixed by the next day; this keeps as many of the computers running as possible.”
Carlson said most students have good feelings about the labs.
White even related that she grew close to the people who frequented the lab with her. “The same people are in here all the time. It’s like a second home!”
