There are certain things in life humans need to survive. Water, food, and a place to live are a key part of maintaining our existence. However, one right all humans should have is often overlooked. Some people would call it a privilege. These people are wrong.

I recently spent time in a UBC library (yes, I know, rare for me). While trying to study, I was robbed of my most important right as a student trying to prepare for an exam: I was denied the right to WiFi.

As part of my DNA, the internet is required to keep me going. As soon as the ubcsecure network went down, I felt myself enduring hours of short breath, rapid heart rate, and a serious lack of concentration.

After nearly four hours, I returned to the confines of my room and was reprieved by the strong connection. It was then that I realized how serious a situation I had been through.

I almost died that day. Being at the library, hopeless without the internet… no human should ever have to go through that. Though I have no immediate solution for this crisis, it is infectious all across our campus. Dropped connections, slow loading, no internet at all. How am I supposed to live without Google?

WiFi is a human right. We should have endless access to information, which flows through WiFi’s ever changing channels. If I can’t check Facebook every five minutes, how am I supposed to interact with others? Talk to the people next to me? Don’t be crazy.

Being strangled that day has changed my life. I’ll never go back. The next time you head out, remember the risks you’re taking. Don’t be left to die like I was.

BY STEVEN Z PONNOOSAMY

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