Author: Tyler Dale
Well, we did it! The days of atrocious dorm WiFi seem to finally be behind us. We complained. We rallied. We tweeted. We wrote articles. We went to the Student Government, and all of that fighting has finally bred results. The Internet speed in the dorms is at an all-time high. No more switching our phones to 4G just to check Facebook in our own rooms! I think we might have even gained access to Xbox Live as a part of the deal.
This change is part of a series of evolutions in Piedmont culture that has been happening over the past few years. These changes got me thinking about just how lucky I am to be a Piedmont student right here and now, in what is arguably one of the most progressive periods in Piedmont’s history. This campus has changed drastically between my freshman year and now, and all of these changes have been more liberating for the student body.
It was towards the middle of my freshman year that Piedmont actually got Wi-Fi in the dorms. Seniors and juniors can remember a time when they had to haul their Ethernet cords around just to stay connected to the Internet. So when Wi-Fi was installed, it was a huge deal. I remember running up and down the halls of Purcell with my laptop just because I could now do so without losing my connection. Now, in my third year here, I am finally seeing Piedmont’s Wi-Fi flourish, and everything I expected freshman year is finally happening.
It’s not just our infrastructure that is evolving, though. Piedmont is finally beginning to drift away from some of its more restrictive policies. Last year visitation on campus was extended from midnight to 2 a.m. I never thought this would happen in my time here, considering how fascist ResLife used to be about visitation hours. Not only that. Purcell was made a co-ed dorm, a change that was made to Swanson this year, tripling the number of co-ed dorms on campus in less than a full year. If the trend continues, perhaps Piedmont will finally implement a completely open-ended visitation policy. We’re certainly headed in that direction.
Of course, there is one area of recession: our alcohol policy. And just like our forward progress, our backward is heavily influenced by student activity. The administration was moving to a more lenient stance on alcohol until recent events. Now it’s being regulated more heavily than ever. I turn 21 this December, and it would be awesome if I could keep beer in my fridge and not have to worry about it, but if we can’t handle the responsibility associated with freedom, then that won’t happen before I graduate.
Despite this, though, I’m still extremely proud with the strides we’re making towards a less restrictive, more accessible and overall happier campus. This really is an era of change for Piedmont, and I hope the campus continues to progress in my final two years here.