Chris Cano would give up his favorite brew for the freedom of wireless Internet — and he’s not alone.In a study released this week, 48 percent of college students agreed with Cano, general studies senior, and said they would give up beer before giving up their wireless access on college campuses.The study, conducted by Wakefield Research for the Wi-Fi Alliance, found students feel Wi-Fi is a necessity for completing their coursework.More than 500 college students in the U.S. took the survey in September. Nearly 75 percent of the students polled said Wi-Fi access on their college campuses helps them get better grades.Seventy-nine percent said without Wi-Fi access, college would be more difficult. Forty-four percent of students surveyed said they use campus Wi-Fi to get a head start on class assignments.”Without [Wi-Fi] I couldn’t get a head start, and I’d have to end up playing games that come on my computer in class,” McRaney, political science junior, said.The University has about 1,500 wireless access points outdoors and in classrooms, allowing students to access the Internet almost anywhere on campus.Wireless access is not yet available in most residence halls on campus. But Steve Waller, director of Residential Life, said he and other University officials are working toward creating a wireless environment for fall 2009.
“Wi-Fi has become a universal expectation among college students,” Edgar Figueroa, executive director of the Wi-Fi Alliance said in a press release. “Their attitudes towards technology are a good indicator of broad changes underway in how we as a society learn, work and communicate.”McRaney said she wouldn’t be able to survive on campus without wireless access, and she probably wouldn’t attend the University without it. Nearly 60 percent say they wouldn’t go to a college that doesn’t have free Wi-Fi available.More than half the students surveyed checked Facebook or MySpace and sent or received an e-mail while using their laptops in class. Nearly 50 percent sent instant messages to a friend during class.Heidi Morein, physics freshman, said she usually logs on Facebook during class, but she mainly uses lsusecure to follow along with the professor’s    Powerpoint presentations posted on Moodle.McRaney said she uses campus Wi-Fi to read the news and to Google unfamiliar class material.Students believe Wi-Fi is essential for other places on campus — not just in the classroom.Fifty-five percent of undergraduates log in at coffee shops and restaurants. Forty-seven percent log in at parks, and 24 percent said they log in from their vehicles, according to the survey.McRaney said she connects to lsusecure before and during class, at Middleton Library and the Student Union. Morein said she also likes to use the wireless access in Middleton Library and in the Quad between classes.—- Contact Leslie Presnall at [email protected]