Hello, my name is D’Angelo Carter, a student at Tri-C, and I am here to talk about Issue 5. What is issue 5? Issue 5 is a proposed tax levy affecting Cuyahoga County. A renewal of the current 2.1 million and increase of 0.4 million for the benefit of Cuyahoga community college district. The purpose is to provide payment of operating cost for educational services. Why this is important for Tri-C is self-explanatory. Not only a renewal of the current tax levy but an increase that will add more funds for the college to use on not only just computers but everything else as well. This effect not only students and staff at Tri-C but this affects everyone in the county of Cuyahoga. Every resident of Cuyahoga will vote on it as that is where the tax will take effect and all the value will be allocated to Tri-C. But the added value the college will receive can be used to purchase new equipment which the school desperately need to do for its tech programs.
The current situation with Tri-C and its computers, in my opinion, is a problem for all the campuses, not just Western Campus. Out of all of them, I would say it hard to rank them, all of the campus has a disparity between its tech and the infrastructure of the school, with significant construction and updating taking place while having computers and technology 10 to 20 years old. Some departments and programs are not facing this crisis but the program I am in is. I am currently studying cyber security, but there are also related degrees and programs that require the same classes and be extension same hardware and the hardware is substandard to say the least. But this issue also extends to the general use of computers as well. Mostly with the Dell machines, as the Apple machines are better optimized. The main problem with the Dell machine is how slow and underpowered they are. The typical cause for slow running computers is either a lack of available RAM or memory or Rams that operate at a low speed. Which happens to old enough computers, in the case of Tri-c computers the case is true for both. When it is paired with a modern Operating System.
With issue 5 and the tax levy the way this can improve Tri-C’s Computer when it comes to tech programs and in general is obviously to buy new hardware. Although it is not that simple, where that money is allocated is important. As well all of it will not be allocated to just one department. But any amount is a significant improvement. A little improvement to the computers of tri-c would be to get better PC’s then the current Dell machines at the colleges there does not need to be much of an improvement as the biggest problem with these computers is memory which can be solved with either hardware improvement or software optimization. Obviously convincing the school to switch operating systems to Linux or reverting back to Windows 10 or earlier is a pipe dream and could cause much bigger issues and may not be worth the risk despite those being lighter weight. So, it may be easier to buy a set of computers. Which can pay for itself eventually by prioritizing future proofing computers rather than buying the cheapest current. As far as the technology and tech programs in the school now. The hardware is massively outdated for what it teaches. While there is a use for older legacy technology since in the real world you will never know what you be tasked to work on. Having newer technology or at the very least functioning technology will go a long way to improving the learning experience in tech programs. The money being spent on specialized networking hardware and high-powered computers that can be shared across classes, programs, clubs, etc.
To close out I would like to recap how Issue can improve Tri-c situation and what if the proposal had failed. To start I will summarize the passage of the bill which did pass with 65 percent voting in favor. This will ensure the funding the school will have for technology in all of its programs including for IT. This means the schools can use some of that for new computers, hardware for programs, and tech related learning departments. As far as the tax levy failed this would means that not only would the extra .4 million does not go to the school but also means that the 2.1 million is also not renewed. Mean not only new technology and equipment is not bought but current tech and equipment can potentially not be maintained. To avoid overspending or due to a lack of funds. This would harm not only IT but all departments, especially those reliant on computers. The current computer crisis would not notice much of a difference now today. But down the line it can cause problems, especially if a future tax levy is not passed. But the computer problem could snowball into those being maintained even less as it is now, or a potential problem now being kicked down the road where when its time to be fixed it will be a huge problem.
- Tags: Issue 5
