Night owls of IIT Mumbai, we feel your pain. Not having internet access between 1:30 - 5:30 AM can be life threatening when exams are just around the corner. Well, it could be equally life threatening when you’ve had a long day and just want to unwind online. Maybe catch up with a friend on chat or stream a film? It must be hugely annoying to have internet taken away during what could potentially be the most productive hours of your night.
While the ban is eased up during exams across all boys’ hostels, it’s funny that the married girls’ hostel has no such restriction all year round. Recently, the institute had asked all students to take an online survey detailing the pros and cons of the LAN ban. Students have maintained that the only reason the ban is in place is to ensure that they make it to the 8:30 am lectures.
A PhD student Reema Bajaj feels that the ban serves no purpose at all.
People who stay up and play online are the ones who, despite the ban, would find a working LAN connection elsewhere if not in their hostel and continue to surf.
– Reema Bajaj
Another student reasoned that if an MTech or PhD student wants to work, they have 24 hour access to the department labs where they can access the internet.
Vikas Chandrawanshi, another PhD student voices the problems faced by students due to the recent ban in this video.
Whatever the institute’s logic, beyond all moral judgement, is it really up to the administration to baby IITians this way? If a student has burnt the midnight oil and managed to a grab a seat at the country’s most prestigious academic institution, isn’t good grades and better time management his/her prerogative? Its hard to miss the incredibly huge blight: male students of IIT Mumbai may at night use the internet for supposedly ‘wrong’ activities.
Blanket bans have never made sense and this one, unfortunately, adds to the list.
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