ESPN was introduced to Bush and Miller Halls in September with the promise of expansion to other dorms soon after. But students in those other dorms may be disappointed if they try to switch on Monday Night Football in their common rooms.
A sign above a television in South Hall's common lounge gives instructions on how to watch ESPN. One needs to use a special remote, provided by Tufts Computing and Communication Services (TCCS) and the Office of Residential Life (ORLL), to turn on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN News.
In September, TCCS announced that ESPN would be available in the common rooms of Hodgdon, Carmichael, Haskell, West, Houston, Lewis, Stratton, South, Wren and Sophia Gordon Halls.
But clear instructions, and oftentimes even the remote, were absent from other lounges that were due to receive ESPN in September. The only dorms which had remotes or instructions were South, Miller and Bush.
Additionally, ESPN is not available in Haskell Hall's lounge, and West Hall does not have a TV lounge. Television sets in the Carmichael and Houston lounges are broken, the former missing a functional cable jack and the latter lacking all buttons.
Most student passersby in these dorms yesterday afternoon said they did not know how to use ESPN in their lounges and have not watched it there this semester.
But students who are sports fans tend to want more ESPN availability in their dorms.
"By having ESPN, Tufts
promotes non-academic interests," sophomore Ali Jafri said in support of having comprehensive access to ESPN. "If you're going to have entertainment for students, you should make it more relevant to students."
Jafri, a resident of Carmichael, did not know that his dorm's television was broken. "When I heard the news that I could watch it in the common room, I was excited, but then I realized that I never go in the common room anyway, so I much rather would have it in my room," he said.
"People don't even know its there," he said, but then seemed to have second thoughts about the necessity of the channel in dormitories. "But, if [ESPN] is in a few central locations, it's fine."
Sophomore Lander Alanis-Cue does not think that ESPN is a priority for the administration.
"It's really only an underclassman problem because most students live off-campus after their sophomore year, and they can get cable," he said. "You just get over it, I guess."
Getting over it is also what residents of Latin Way and Hillsides may have to do, since those dormitories were not scheduled to receive ESPN this semester.
"I was disappointed that I didn't see Hillsides on the initial list of dorms that were supposed to get ESPN," said junior and Hillsides resident Kyle Vangel. "I'm wondering if we will get it at all this year."
