Do you remember when nothing online was working? Because somehow, for the first time in decades, the internet was “out” just for our school. Students walked into class ready to open Canvas, excitedly checking assignments and grades, checking out the class material, when, suddenly, everything stopped. Our computers wouldn’t load, teachers couldn’t open their material, and nothing worked. I thought this was just a glitch, but soon, there were rumors spreading like wildfire saying somebody had cut the fiber optic cable.

Not only for me but in many of our classes, our teachers tried to improvise, but some of the teachers failed and the class turned out to be a filler. The school soon later emailed us regarding the internet outage. It was really strange for one day without the internet how differently our school day felt just because of one problem. Teachers would be forced to use their mobile hotspots just to display their presentations, and many students were unable to turn in assignments.

John Cash, Director of Technology, gave us the following information about the internet outage: “On Tuesday, November 18, from approximately 5:40 PM to 6:00 PM, an individual gained access to an underground cable pull box and deliberately cut through two 24-strand bundles of fiber optic cable. These cables provide all voice and data communication to and from campus. The damage was severe enough to render the cables irreparable.” This meant that the internet was out even before we students stepped on campus on that infamous Wednesday.

Mr. Cash and his team worked all day on Wednesday and went all the way around the campus to find the missing issue. Mr Cash said that the damage made it unrepairable and it would now require new installation of the new fiber optic cables which is around 1,700 feet long. The culprit hasn’t been caught yet as, due to the rain and the lowlight conditions, Mr. Cash was unable to get clear footage of the culprit. In response, Mr. Cash has enhanced security data around the electrical access boxes.

A potential rumor that’s being investigated is that there was an act of vandalism at the Hoffman Church. The culprit potentially could’ve come across the underground cable pull box and decided to cut the fiber optic cord hoping it would take the security cameras out near the Hoffman Church. This is very far out but could still be a possibility.

An investigation has been continued, but the Albuquerque Academy internet outage will be remembered because of the failure of the internet and how our entire school reacted to this incident. Students saw how much their day relies on being online, and, at the same time, what we have experienced and how quickly rumors can spread where there is a mystery.