Hot or not?

Before the technology gurus at IU pat themselves on the back, there are still some improvements to be made to our "hot" technology campus.\nIn 2001, Time magazine named IU "College of the Year" among research institutions. In 2002, IU took home another ranking from The Princeton Review as the No. 1 party school. \nUniversity officials hung their heads, parents were apprehensive to let their babies come here and students started the lines for keg-stands.\nNow, IU has racked up another ranking. The Aug. 22 issue of Newsweek notes IU-Bloomington as the nation's Hottest Big State School.\nOur Big Ten rivals' jaws are probably still on the ground. Ohio State and Michigan -- aren't those big state schools? What makes IU so great?\nAccording to Newsweek, IU wins points for Little 500, the hype of weekend partying portrayed in "Breaking Away," our extensive offerings in undergraduate degrees (328) and majors (130) and, finally, we "embrace the information age."\nIt doesn't surprise me that Little 500 and partying were mentioned as part of IU's appeal. The academic portion of the ranking isn't alarming either. Some people do go to college to get an education; you just might not be one of them. \nBut embracing the information age, huh? I'll agree with that. IU has 2,700 Windows computers and 600 to 700 Macs scattered all over campus. It provides students with a 650-page printing allowance and plenty of memory space through Common File System accounts and Oncourse file saver. But in what other ways is it at the forefront of the technology and information push?\nLast year Intel Corp. ranked IU No. 1 for wireless connectivity. Not only does IU offer a variety of computers to its students, it makes it a lot easier to use your own PC on campus. \nEven with all those glorious features of IU technology, there's some important information Newsweek failed to give its readers. \nDuring last school year, there was a period of time when Ariel users on IU Webmail could not access their e-mail. Why? Because the server got struck or surged, leaving one-fourth of Webmail users without e-mail. \nThough IU fixed the problem as quickly as possible, many students were left with a bitter taste in their mouths because of it (this columnist being one of them). To avoid this problem in the future, my e-mail is forwarded to my Gmail account. Plus it gives me over 2.5 GB of storage compared to IU's 100 MB. \nThe next complaint is the ever unpopular Onestart that IU switched to during the last couple of years. Students and faculty members alike have had trouble navigating their way through this server. \nBy no means am I saying that IU doesn't deserve a ranking among the "hottest," because it does offer a lot of glitter to its students, whether it's academically, athletically or technologically. \nWhat I am saying is that there are still improvements that can be made to our technology, or we might slip into the category of "Hottest Has-Been School"