The quiet hum of computers fills the empty spaces in Coates Hall, but in 2003 when $416,050 was spent on the computer labs in Coates alone, the question of who actually uses the computers came into play.
Upstairs in 205 Coates is the Communication Resource Lab, which came from a Board of Regents grant and revenue from the Student Technology Fee. In this room, there are 24 new computers, but the room is only open for students in the English and speech communication departments, said Scott Windom, an ISDS senior.
The students use this room for multimedia purposes and for writing essays directly on a computer, he said.
In 263 Coates, there is a public computer lab that Nick Nelson, a student worker and undecided freshman, said students do not visit very often.
Windom, a level-four student technician, said he sees quite a few people in the lab downstairs, but not as many upstairs in the “mezzanine area.”
The upstairs area used to be a restricted area, so students now are reluctant to use the computers, he said.
“It used to be used for biological testing, but that was moved to Himes Hall,” he said.
While access to the 72 computers and several scanners is free, black and white copies are 5 cents a piece and color copies are 25 cents a piece, just like all the other computer labs controlled by Computing Services, Windom said.
There also are two classrooms in the lab used by computer science majors and other seminars, he said.
Attempting to stay on the cutting edge, this lab soon will be integrating many computers with a different operating system, Linux, which is an alternative to Windows, said Bruce Messick, a full-time public access PC support staff worker.
Linux systems are not as easy to use as Windows or Apple systems, but people who learn how to use them like them much better, Messick said. The people who use them the most are computer science majors, he said.
All the computer labs in Coates and Middleton eventually will have the choice of a Linux system, said Christopher Carter, a full-time public access PC support staff worker.
The student technology fee will be the motivator behind these upgrades, which totals $75 for students with 15 hours of credit per semester, with a $5 credit for one fewer hour, according to the Student Tech Fee Web site.