Friday, February 13, 1998
Center satisfies all computer needs
TECHNOLOGY: Despite its array of special services, the STC is
still unknown to many students
By Andy Shah
Daily Bruin Contributor
It’s the middle of the day, and after acing your English
midterm, you decide to send a pre-Valentine’s Day e-mail to the
significant other you’ve been ignoring the past week. With visions
of roses and soft music in your head, you decide to inform your
loved one of your grand plans for Saturday night.
Suddenly, your screen gets fuzzy. "System error occurred;
automatic shutdown," says the machine. Your idyllic plans are lost
in cyberspace. Buffy will be mad.
Welcome to computer hell.
You have two options at this point: Either you can ring up your
trusted friend who sells computers out of his van, or you can call
the Student Technology Center (STC), the primary technological
service provider for UCLA students living on campus.
"We’re generally responsible for the computer networking and
cable TV services to the residence halls," said Michael Schilling,
manager of the STC and director of technology for UCLA Business and
Finance.
The center offers an array of services, including computing
assistance, cable hookup, mailing and packaging, poster production
and CD-ROM recording.
Any on-campus student can utilize the STC’s services. The center
is funded by the Business and Finance division, which goes through
housing services to provide most of the free services to students.
However, faculty and staff members are charged since they don’t pay
housing fees.
The center supports the computer network system for the
residence halls, which equals to about 6,800 customers. The network
is "fully switched," with 10 megabytes per second to the desktop.
Translation: "It’s really fast. And the modems are 200 to 300
percent faster than a typical modem," Schilling said.
The STC also provides computer assistance, just in case a
computer decides to commit suicide the day before a paper is
due.
"We deal mainly with computer installation and network problems.
The (problems) are usually caused by user error," said Natalie
Stathas, a STC staff member.
Students can also contact the STC call center at (310)825-3400
if they have questions. Schilling estimates that they receive
between 100 to 200 calls a day, especially during midterms and
finals.
In case you ever feel like puttering with a computer outside of
your room or a computer lab, the STC houses a variety of Macs and
PCs, all of which are updated to current technology.
"They have some pretty powerful computers here," said Andy
Ikeda, a fifth-year psychology student.
The center also supports the residence halls’ cable TV system,
including installation and maintenance. Premium channels, such as
HBO and Cinemax, can be added to your TV menu.
Another unique service the center provides is CD-ROM production.
"Say you want to make a CD that contains only your favorite songs.
Or you want to back up your academic data. You can make your own
CDs here," said Rick Starnes, a technical manager.
Since the formation of the STC in 1995, the center has been
steadily increasing the number of students it has assisted. In the
first year, they helped approximately 30 percent of students living
on campus. Today, that figure stands at 60 percent.
However, some feel that the STC is not utilized as much as it
should be.
"A lot of people don’t know what we offer. There’s a lack of
publicity," said Monica Marrero, a second- year psychology student
who works at the STC.
Aidee Acero, a second-year undeclared student, was using the STC
for the first time to make customized Valentine’s Day cards.
"It’s good that we have something like this," she said.
PATIL ARMENIAN
Kien Trieu, a first-year biology student, and Ye-Yang Yu, a
first-year computer science student, work on the computers in the
Student Technology Center.