It’s hard to imagine that previous generations went through college without the Internet. Now students can simply log onto the libraries research database page and access multitudes of periodicals, transcripts, books and databases. This is all great – until the Internet goes down.

Online access is no longer just a luxury; it’s an integral part of the modern learning experience. Students and faculty depend on it to communicate, save time and accomplish more. Viruses have become a huge impediment to Internet access – at school, home and the workplace. Internet service providers and anyone else hosting a network now spend extra time and money on virus protection. This University has dedicated an enormous amount of energy and resources to maintain a stable and safe network, but it cannot do it alone.

Network users must install anti-virus software in their computers. Unfortunately, too many are not making the small effort to avoid a time-consuming, costly and frustrating process. That is, the process of shutting down all the campus computers and doing a computer by computer scan to make sure the network is virus-free. For those who were here last year, they might remember the first week of school with limited Internet access and an over-worked ResNet staff.

Residents in Nassau-Suffolk and Colonial Square are now paying the price for this. Like a biological virus, computer viruses spread through networks and attack. The productivity curve goes way down when this happens. (Just think how much more gets done with Internet access in the dorms than with students having to hike to overcrowded labs when the network is down.)

The University provides excellent support to students’ computer problems, but they are unnecessarily stretched too thin trying to repair avoidable problems. That is why it is imperative that network users take personal accountability for the matter and make sure their computers are protected. The chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

The editorial reflects the opinion of no less than 75 percent of the Editorial Board.