Workers sever fiber-optic line, disrupt e-mail service at YSU

YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State University Internet and e-mail services were cut off from the surrounding community Tuesday when a construction crew severed a fiber-optic line, a YSU spokesman said.
The problem started mid-morning Tuesday and YSU technicians were able to reroute the system so services were back to normal by 4 p.m., said Ron Cole, YSU's manager of news and information services.
A contractor doing work for Qwest Communications in relation to the Federal Street reconstruction project severed the fiber-optic line, said Carmen Conglose Jr., city deputy director of public works.
While e-mail and Internet service remained intact on campus, users from outside the university could not access university sites or send e-mail to university users. Also, university users could not send e-mail outside the YSU system.
Cole said the most significant problem that arose was that students could not access their end-of-term grades via the YSU system unless they were on campus. Grades were available to students online only for the first time this term.