Written by Peter Cook
Pomona students, although a fun-loving, laid-back bunch, do have a lot of homework, and much of this is performed on futuristic machines called "computers." If you've never seen one, they are sort of like televisions, except, get this, interactive! The general consensus on the campus' technical options is that the computer situation is so-so. There are certainly more-wired and better-run campuses as per computers, but if you are an atavist who just longs for the heady thwack of the typewriter keys impacting crisp, white paper, then you aren't going to find it here (unless you create your own heady thwacks). There are two 24-hour computer labs in which you will almost always be able to find a computer (there are times when you can't, however) and plenty of Pomona students/com-geeks are at your beck and call to troubleshoot all your computer problems. They even make house calls! They are like the plumbers of the information age!
The Pomona network is sizable and heavily trafficked, and many classes require accessing online databases and discussion groups. This said, it is certainly possible to get by without being some sort of computer wiz-there are plenty of nerds available to lend a helping hand. Of course, no hands (no matter how ink stained and pallid) can help when the network goes down, as often happens, right before you need to print and turn in a paper. It's a good idea to get your work done ahead of time, because professors tend to have low tolerance for tech-related excuses. This is probably because most of them still live in the stone age; many of them still subscribe to ideologies that require them to write everything by hand!