There is a severe lack of outlets on campus considering the amount of students who need them. Students frequently study and do homework using their laptops, which have a limited amount of battery life.
UMBC is working towards growing the campus through constructing new buildings. There should also be a focus on updating old ones, namely making certain that the buildings have sufficient working outlets. There are about 11,000 students enrolled at UMBC and many need an extra charge, not only during study time but also during classes.
There are many classes where the use of computers is necessary, but most classrooms do not have the capabilities to cater to every student. Even in classrooms with tabletop outlets there are not always enough outlets on the actual walls for the tables to be of any use.
Activities that require charger ports are integral to education today. Almost all students need to be able to charge their electronics and UMBC has not accounted for that as of yet.
A large amount of people enrolled at UMBC are majoring in something that involves computer science, which necessitates the use of a computer. Additionally, many other majors require at least a bit of time on an electronic device. Battery life is not infinite, and if there is a project due in a few hours but only enough battery life left for a few more minutes, that could be detrimental to a student’s grade.
Erika Echols, a senior sociology major, believes that, “more outlets could be added in classrooms and in lecture halls because some peoples’ battery life for laptops are not as long as others, and this could definitely impede one from learning and taking notes.” This is more noticeable during days where professors require the class to bring in their computers for the day and everyone clamors to get one of the limited outlets.
In some buildings, many of the outlets do not even work. As previously mentioned, the tables with tabletop outlets are limited. Echols comments on this, saying,”there is the library, but not every part of the library has outlets, especially the floors where it is supposed to be silent.”
Tamara Carr, a senior English major, shares a similar sentiment. “I spend the majority of my time in the performing arts building and there are not nearly enough outlets in the common spaces,” Carr says, adding, “I don’t think there are enough outlets in the classrooms, as I have often times not been able to charge my devices because other students were using the one outlet per wall of the classroom.”
Overall, UMBC needs to consider necessary updates to every building in order to accommodate every student. In the new technological age nearly everyone uses their laptop or phone in order to excel in school. Without the proper accommodations the use of technology is very difficult at UMBC.
