Swamped Behind The Screen: A Day With A Student IT Worker

With failing technology and antiquated software, the IT department at CSI is under more stress than ever before. 

By: Isaiah Latif

On Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., Mason Yuen sat at the CSI help desk and prepared for the students waiting outside his office. He had just clocked in and there were already five tickets to fulfill. He turned on his computer and took a sip from his matcha. 

In building 1L Room 212, Yuen works tirelessly to help students with their technological issues. 

He loves helping fellow students, but the recent influx of students requiring help has made this academic year much busier than usual. 

Yuen has been working for the IT department since the fall semester of 2024. Despite his experience, the past two semesters have been quite the challenge. 

“A lot of students can’t navigate the technologies our school uses,” said Yuen. “The poor UI (user interface) and old tech make it harder on everyone.” 

The inefficient technologies and softwares at CSI have given students a headache, and placed a massive responsibility on the IT department. 

From Brightspace logins to Wi-Fi passwords, the CUNY system is littered with technological difficulties. Yuen helps by performing account resets, password resets, and helping students navigate the online softwares needed to perform their scholarly duties. 

Students have also complained to Yuen about not being able to access their CunyFirst accounts. This is not a CSI issue, but rather a problem plaguing the entire CUNY system. Yuen claims that the software has needed some fixing for a while, however nothing has been done. 

“It’s just annoying, sometimes it’s not your fault,” said Yuen. “There could be something wrong with the website or something outside of your control.”

The biggest issue this year for Yuen has been the two-factor authentication (2FA) software used to access brightspace. Following a data breach last May, CUNY has mandated that every student must use 2FA every time they log in. 

In theory this was a great idea, however, it has been a nightmare in practice for faculty and students. From its inaccessibility on computers to its inconvenience on mobile, the CUNY 2FA system has been anything but practical. 

Like Yuen, Vince Leano is a computer science major at CSI. Leano works closely with Yuen and has had his own share of difficulties with the school’s technologies.

That being said, Leano claims that using 2FA is a necessary precaution, because another data breach would be a major red flag to CUNY students, both present and future. He says that although it’s inconvenient, it’s necessary.

“Would you rather do this (2FA) or risk getting hacked,” said Leano. “Why would you even want to chance it?”

Although 2FA is not always foolproof, it creates a protective barrier between you and hackers trying to access your information. This protective layer is CUNY’s way of making sure that the information of students is never compromised again. 

Students have been approaching Yuen since September in an attempt to set up their 2FA, but it has been difficult for both parties. The students can’t link their accounts to the authenticator app, and Yuen needs to do an entire account reset for them. 

Despite the difficulties, Yuen is keeping his head up and working diligently to make sure every student is taken care of. Him and the rest of the IT department are pushing students to find the IT help desk and come to them ASAP if they are having any technological issues. You can find him on campus Monday 2:30-4:30, Tuesday 4:40-7, and Saturday 12-5:30 in 1L 212. 

“We’re doing our best,” said Yuen. “We can’t change the software the school uses, but we can do our best to give assistance to everyone who needs us.”