The President's Day Blizzard interrupted cable services at the College from Monday, Feb. 17 to mid-morning Wednesday, Feb. 19. Many students were angered by the amount of time it took for the cable to be repaired.
"I was pissed off," Nicole Kukawski, freshman secondary education English major, said. "I think it's absurd that the cable was out for two full days."
Brad Coburn, manager of Communication Technologies, said that the duration of the disruption was a result of the closing of administrative offices to the State-of-Emergency.
'There was no way anyone could have fixed the problem between 4 a.m. Monday and when the College re-opened on Tuesday," Coburn said.
"I, or a member of my staff, would have to had come to campus, determine that a problem existed, determine the source and possibly dispatch a call to Comcast," he added.
According to Coburn, the source of the disruption was a blown fuse in the equipment that connects the College to Comcast's service.
By 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a Comcast repairman fixed the fuse and cable service was restored.
Coburn said that Communication Technologies is currently looking for ways to prevent long interruptions in cases such as the blizzard.
"We are considering how we can redistribute some responsibilities to staff who are available on campus for situations where administrative staff are unavailable on campus," Coburn said.
"I recognize the loss of cable service was an inconvenience to students and especially given the weather and isolating conditions," he added. "I also apologize that we were unable to address the situation more quickly."
Some students were angered by the interruption in general.
"I think the way the College handled the cable problem was simply ridiculous and unacceptable," Ryan McCabe, freshman English major, said.
"I was mad because I wanted to watch 'Joe Millionaire.' I was waiting all week for it," Lauren Ross, freshman elementary education major, said.
She added, "I also wanted to know if we were still in a State-of-Emergency and when the snow was going to stop."
"We needed to watch the finale of Joe Millionaire," Meredith Hagan, freshman open options major, said. "We offered to pay our friend $10 for his little TV. There were 10 of us crowded around a two-and-a-half inch TV. We were extremely mad."
According to Coburn, all cable problems should be reported to the Information Technology Help Desk by calling x2660.
"The staff there are very knowledgeable and many times can assist in resolving the issue over the phone," he said. "The majority of the repair work is done by TCNJ staff."
- Additional Reporting by Kelly Meisberger, News Assistant
