Logging the Grade

Getting in touch with nature seemed to be a common theme of many students' intersessions, whether they were carving up fresh powder or soaking up the rays. The laptops and cell phones were forgotten, at least for a few short days. Upon our return, students sighed with pleasure as they reconnected to the Internet and read the dozens of e-mails that filled our inboxes during our breaks.

So when shopping period began we happily filed into Core classes, the stress of finals buried away in that part of ourselves reserved for invasive medical procedures. Now after two days of being accosted by online booksellers offering lower prices than the Coop and what college students need most--food (and free food at that)--the reality of a new semester has set in.

But with that realization came the need to section once again for our new classes and check the registrar's website for our fall semester grades. Amazingly, Harvard seemed to not expect this huge increase in Internet traffic volume on the section and registrar sites. Both sites have been nearly impossible to use. They tantalized students with the login screen but displayed strange error messages, making students wonder for the 47th time whether they typed their ID number correctly. These sites were set up to make everybody's life easier, but have become another frustration amongst the many others during shopping period.

If Harvard can plan its exam schedule ten years in advance and has the logistical prowess to coordinate times and places for hundreds of classes, it seems obvious that they would increase server capacity on these two key sites during peak periods like the post-intersession/shopping period rush. Instead, they have caused thousands of students to bang their heads against their computer screens. Hopefully next semester the University will iron out this glitch and make this stressful time a little bit easier for everybody.

--Lorrayne S. Ward