Press Coverage

USF Faculty, Students Using Spring Break to Help Bridge the Digital Divide:

Three Computer Science Professors and 10 Students Will Install 90 Computers and Provide Internet Access to Two Schools in Peru

(San Francisco) - Tacna, Peru may not be on the short list of spring break destinations for your average college student, but 10 University of San Francisco undergrads will follow three of the school's computer science professors there to help bridge the growing digital divide between rich and poor countries.

The USF contingent is acquiring and refurbishing 90 computers it will ship to the town of approximately 260,000 and set up in two local high schools. Chris Brooks, Dave Wolber, and Greg Benson, USF computer science professors, are leading the effort.

"We plan to install and configure all of the necessary software, including Spanish language software," Brooks said. "We would also like to provide dedicated Internet access to these schools. Currently, they do not have any sort of Internet access. This will likely involve setting up wireless connections between the schools, as well as wiring within the schools."

The trip is being planned in conjunction with USF University Ministry and Alberto Yepez and Teresa Win, USF computer science alumni. Yepez a native of Tacna, and Win have been involved in past philanthropic efforts with the high schools.

"This is a natural partnership," Brooks said.

USF is also working closer to home to help the poor and homeless access computers and the Internet. Since last spring, students have worked with San Francisco Network Ministries, a non-profit serving people in the Tenderloin, to upgrade the organization's computers that are used by the poor and homeless who need computer skills to help them succeed in the labor market.

"That work is continuing," Brooks said. "We had four students work there last fall and we've begun to branch out to other local agencies as well. I'm currently coordinating this as part of a course that studies some of the societal, ethical, and legal issues involved in computing." Other local agencies include SafeHouse, a Jesuit organization working with women escaping prostitution, The Sapling Project, which provides computers and training to adults with mental illness, and Breakthrough Collaborative, a program that trains under-represented youth to be mentors and educators.

One of the goals of the trip to Tacna is to educate students about the effects of the digital divide, Brooks said.

"As our world becomes more and more dependent on electronic means of communication and information-gathering, those individuals who do not have access to computers and the Internet risk falling further behind," he said. "This is a chance for our students not only to make a positive difference, but also to reflect on the impact of technologies they typically take for granted."

Every year, USF students volunteer an average of 7,144 hours and 73 percent of the university's freshmen participate in community service, compared with the national average of 53 percent.

For more information, contact Brooks at (415) 422-5221 or cbrooks@cs.usfca.edu or Monica Leifer, USF assistant director of media relations, at (415) 422-2697.