Dear Ira Winston, IT officials and members of the administration,
In case you aren't already aware, School of Arts and Sciences students are angry.
While we understand that technology is not perfect, and that the delay is in part due to legal issues concerning student privacy, your failure to switch e-mail providers by now is simply ridiculous.
And although we appreciate that the University has made replacing SAS Webmail a priority and has reached out to explain the reason for the problem, after this past week's snafu, students will no longer accept that replacement will happen "soon." You must replace the SAS Webmail server immediately.
The most recent crash, which SAS Information Technology Director Ira Winston told the DP was the longest in his memory, left students at a crucial part of the semester with no e-mail access for 18 hours. In the days following, there were also a series of small crashes, which added up to one huge headache for already-stressed students.
It's no secret that the SAS Webmail server has had its share of problems. Such crashes have happened prior to this semester, and students have taken matters into their own hands, turning to Gmail and other, more reliable servers.
But it should not have come to this. Not only do students pay a technology fee each semester that should include a functional e-mail account, but the University should have developed a plan B in case of a failure during the most hectic time of the semester before, not after, the fact.
An e-mail sent yesterday to all SAS students from SAS official Ramin Sedehi said that the transition would begin sometime in January, but when students return from break, they will expect more than a vague timeline for replacement - they will demand immediate action.
Sincerely,
The Opinion Board
P.S. We apologize if you receive this multiple times, but SAS e-mail has been having some issues lately and we may need to send this more than once.
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