BAYBAY CITY, Leyte— On February 24, 2020 (Monday), a temporary suspension of the free Wi-Fi service was implemented after complaints of improper waste disposal in hotspots like the Department of Computer Science and Technology building (DCST). Amaranth sought out the voice of the students regarding this matter and obtained the following sentiments.
BSCS-1 student Murlie Cagande believed that the suspension of the free Wi-Fi service was a way to remind the students to be disciplined in throwing their trashes: “Oo, okay ra para madiscipline pud ang mga taw. Careless sila, mga college naman unta sila then dili sila kamao maglabay ug basura sa proper place.”
[It was okay, so that people would be disciplined. They are careless, they are supposed to be college students, yet they do not know how to throw their garbage properly.]
Jessa Olazo from BSAB-1 expressed that the suspension was a call to all students to be responsible since the service provided them benefits: “Okay ra naho. Siguro, learnings sad sa mga student nga magtambay ngari. Makabenefit jud siya (free Wi-Fi) kay naa pami mga assignement nga nganhi nganhi ra jud mi makassignment. So kay giban man ang wifi, dako jud siya ug impact.”
[It was okay for me. It should be a lesson to all students who stay here (DCST). We benefit from it because we do some of our assignments here. Since the suspension, it really made a big impact.]
Agner Varon, BSAB-1, said that the idea of suspending the service had a significant consequence on students who regularly use the service: “For me, okay ra man siya kay sama sa giingon na lesson learned daw para sa mga iresponsible student ba. Kanang maggamit ba, makabenefit sila pero ang ilang gibalik ba, na imbes nakabenfit sila dili maayo. Dako jud ang impact sa pagaban so ang buhaton kay maibanan ang allowance para sa load.”
[I have nothing against it. This is a lesson for all those irresponsible students. They benefit from it, but they give back something bad. It has a big effect on us because now, our allowance must allot money for load.]
BSCE-2 student Joseph Napoles, viewed this as a positive thing for the discipline of the students. He hopes that they will be more responsible considering that throwing wastes properly is a simple responsibility.
“As a student sa VSU we need to be responsible about our trash kay ana na way daota ang pagkita sa pagban nila kay wa may sa pagban sa internet kay kahibaw jud ka na your responsibility is simple ra baya, maglabog ra ka ug basura ana.”
[As a student of VSU we need to be responsible about our trash. I don’t see anything wrong in banning the internet because we know that your responsibility is simple. Throw your trash properly.]
On the other hand, 2nd year BSED student major in Social Studies Rouella Ańano, believed that the suspension was an unfair call since not all users were irresponsible. She added that they could have provided alternatives instead of suspending the said service.
“Para namo kay bad thing siya kay especially kami mugamit jud mi pero di man mi apil sa tanan naga irresponsible inig makiconnect unya kana gani na feeling na madali dali mig search. Pwede man sigurog kanang ikuan na lamang ang mga estudyante, sultian na ing ani or warning siguro makuan pa man siguro kesa sa iban gyud kay dako jud siya na epekto sa amoa.”
[For us it was a bad thing, especially that we use it for research purposes. Not all of us are irresponsible; they could have just given a warning than a total ban of the service.]
Marvin Batistil, BSCE-2, expressed his disappointment as well on the announcement saying that some students only rely on the free Wi-Fi service.
“A little bit disappointed kay kasagaran baya sa mga estudyante dili ka afford ug internet connection so dire ra magsalig kumbaga. Kuan pud, diba kay naa may reason ngano gishotdown ang free wifi kadto laging mga irresonpinsible students ana, patakara ug labay sa basura, mura pug lesson learned na dapat next time aware na ila sa buhaton ba nila.”
[I feel a bit disappointed because most students cannot afford an internet connection and they only depend on the service. Those irresponsible students are the reason for its shutdown. This should be a lesson so that next time, they will be aware.]
The official VSU post on the suspension highlighted that as a university that advocates environmental conservation, its constituents must be the primary models of environmental care and discipline.
Today, March 2 (Monday), the VSU free wi-fi suspension was officially lifted. However, never forget that in this university: with great connection comes great responsibility.
Lois Mauri Anne Liwanag and Margraf von Jean Eslopor contributed to this story.