Some Grenfell campus students struggle to contact home due to fallout from MUN cybersecurity attack
University says in-person classes will resume Monday with some IT services still down
As students of Memorial University's Grenfell campus remain in limbo, the student union's academic vice-president says it's getting harder for international students to reach their families.
Campus IT systems, including Wi-Fi, are down due to a cybersecurity attack that also pushed back the start of the winter semester to next week.
And while students are moving back on campus as normal, some are finding themselves cut off from home.
"For the international students who have been here, it's definitely hard. The only source of internet, especially for those who live on campus, is the campus internet," Saif Sayeedi told CBC News on Friday.
"So once their data runs out, it's hard for them to connect to their families back home."
Online courses have not been affected by the campus IT service issue and began Thursday as scheduled.
Students living on campus who are also enrolled in online courses are also facing problems, Sayeedi said. They're having to seek out Wi-Fi sources off campus.
"Those people living in campus residences do not have access to Wi-Fi, so they actually cannot access the classes," he said.
"They're doing their best effort to go to places that have Wi-Fi such as cafés [or] the Corner Brook Public Library."
However, Sayeedi said professors understand the situation.
Hadiza Bello, the student union president, told CBC News debit systems and ATMs on campus are also down, so students can't buy books.
"Outlook is also down so professors can't give access to course material. We can't contact professors. We can't do any of the work at the office as well," she said.
Bello said it's unclear how classes will resume Monday with IT systems still disrupted and doubts classes will go ahead. She also isn't happy with the university's solution of suggesting students seek internet connections off campus.
"It's not fair because we're here paying for Wi-Fi, it's a service that's supposed to be provided. We're not getting that service," she said.
In-person classes were also supposed to begin Thursday but will instead start Monday, according to a statement from university spokesperson Chad Pelley on Friday.
"While the forensic investigation is ongoing, some IT services must remain down, partly to ensure containment of the issue and the safe eventual resumption of serves," Pelley wrote, adding that there's no timeline for how long things will go on this way. Any updates will be posted on MUN's website, he said.
"It's worth noting that faculty members still have access to Brightspace — the platform used to deliver both online and in-person courses at Memorial — as Brightspace is not impacted," he wrote. "A solution for internet access is being prioritizing now, in the form of Wi-Fi hot spots."
Pelley also noted the service for online tuition payments is hosted through the St. John's campus, which hasn't been impacted by the incident. Students can pay with cash or online.
Additionally, Pelley wrote, there is work underway to add debit and credit capacity at the bursar's office and a Wi-Fi hot spot.
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With files from Newfoundland Morning and Colleen Connors