Stonehaven Student Housing began implementing Wi-Fi during finals week of spring 2019. As a result, residents have expressed concerns regarding unreliable internet and untimely internet servicing.

“I remember when they installed the Wi-Fi, they installed it during finals week so they cut off the internet for three days which I thought was horrible timing,” stated Danny Tovalino, a fourth-year education graduate student. He went on to state that residents are still having issues, as the Wi-Fi works some days and does not on others. “I would have to leave my campus residence and go on campus to study. I got used to it but that’s not good,” stated Tovalino.

Antoinette Nguyen, a second-year statistics major, shared Tovalino’s concern, stating, “I would often plan to stay on campus all day or go to establishments that offer Wi-Fi. This also adds a burden of risking my safety at night.”

The Highlander also interviewed Olivia Rodriguez, a third-year history major who expressed similar safety concerns. “I’ve had to walk all the way to campus by myself to get better Wi-Fi at night. All I ask for is at least an explanation for why this is taking so long or what the issue is.”

In response to student concerns, Stonehaven Manager Nidia Meza said that if a resident is interested in learning more about a specific problem, the staff’s phone numbers are available for residents to contact them with any additional questions or concerns they may have. Meza added that the cause for the inconsistent internet was “extremely high usage to guests and unauthorized users using multiple devices at one time.” According to Meza, Stonehaven will be increasing the bandwidth to 2GB rather than the previous 1GB.

Courtesy of UCR Housing

“We increased the number of routers from 100 to 140, and plan to have 200 routers installed by the summer, which means that every unit at Stonehaven will have its own router,” stated Meza.

In addition to internet concerns, Tovalino stated that routine water shut-offs will also occur. He stated, “Every once in a while they will send out an email and they will notify the students that the water will be shut-off. Since I’ve lived here in Stonehaven I have had the water shut off on me at least 10-15 times.”

“It is typical for an apartment complex of Stonehaven’s size, age and regular strain from more than 400 student residents and their guests to need plumbing repairs with some regularity,” stated Meza. She also stated that they are in the process of upgrading the plumbing system and pipes, which occasionally require water shut-offs.
However, these issues have caused residents such as Jacob Ferber, a transfer third-year business administration major to become disillusioned. “Stonehaven is my only point to gauge so far and is setting a low bar.”