As the saying goes,”new year, new me,” but for students in PLHS they were hoping new year meant better wifi. 

It’s a fresh new year in PLHS. Students are returning, and wifi is improving, right? Unfortunately, no. Students are still struggling with the ongoing problem with the wifi. The problem is believed to be worsening, and students are anxious for it to be fixed. Some of the students that spoke out about the problem are sophomores, Alyssa Jimenez, and Emma Hindman. 

  “Going back to school was good because it feels good to get back to my routine, and being back in a social environment feels good.” Jimenez said.

Going back to school also meant going back to using the Chromebooks. Although the computers are semi-new, students still have not got the hang of them and are even having difficulties with them.

“The Chromebooks can be difficult at times. There’s times where my Chromebook won’t connect to the internet, and it slows down class.” Jimenez said.

Chromebooks means wifi. The students of PLHS know the wifi isn’t so great, so combining the problem with adding in Chromebooks might have not been the best idea.

“Yes [I have problems with the wifi], because whenever I try to send a message it won’t send, and when we play games in class, the games don’t load. The wifi is very unreliable,” Jimenez said.

Not only can the wifi be unreliable, but it can also affect some students’ work. Not being able to play your game in class is one thing, but not being able to turn in your assignment on time is another.

“This morning I was trying to finish my assignment in English, and I was in the pottery room. I had so much trouble connecting to the wifi and I got my work done 10 minutes before the bell rang,” Hindman said. “[The Wifi] frustrates me because when the teachers give you the option to do work on your phone, and you do it, the phone can’t connect most times, so it’s hard getting your work done in class.”

Hindman also explained her observations of students having problems with the wifi. 

“Usually people get mad and annoyed because I’ve seen it in my classes where people can’t access [the wifi] and they try to turn something in but it won’t work,” Hindman said.

It’s pretty clear that the wifi problem is not helping create a positive learning environment. Students have picked up on where the wifi is terrible and where you can ease the frustration and access the wifi a little bit easier

“The freshman wing has better wifi, and the worst spot for wifi is when you are in the center, or in a classroom that is closed in, when you’re closer to outside you have a better signal. It’s like jail when you’re in the center because it’s all closed in and the wifi is bad,” Hindman said.

The wifi problem is causing many students to stress, and it’s causing them problems beyond not being able to watch Tik Toks. Hopefully by the end of the year the wifi problem will be addressed and fixed, but right now students in PLHS continue to struggle.