At approximately 8:30 a.m. this morning, the internet at West Chicago Community High School and other schools in the area went down; the power outage lasted past the end of the school day and delayed many lessons.

“Comcast had a fiber cable somewhere in their network get severed. It cut service to dozens of schools,” said Dr. Will Dwyer, Principal of WCCHS.

Due to many assignments on Google Classroom and MAP testing, teachers who rely primarily on computer-based classwork had to resort to other lessons.

Some students were elated that certain assignments and activities, including the ongoing MAP testing, had been postponed, while others remained hindered by the lack of paper-based work. 

“My teachers [were] frustrated because we were supposed to take tests but now we can’t,” said freshman Abigail Ballard.

According to Comcast’s website, there were no outages in the area that impacted internet use today. Upon calling Comcast in the late afternoon, one heard a prerecorded message that explains there was an issue, but that it had been fixed; however, students and staff connected to the school’s internet servers still struggled throughout the school day to access the web.

According to an article by Dunedin Electric, severed wires can be caused by many things, but most commonly occur due to improper insulation, rodents, and corrosion. As the Chronicle learns more about the source of the severed cable, it will publish updates here.

For many in the class of 2024, the outage was not a concern, as classes at West Chicago Community High School were significantly reduced due to “senior ditch day.”

Those students who were in attendance tried to look at the bright side, seeing the internet outage as a break that shelved stress.

“The internet being down has affected MAP testing, so that’s pretty good,” said sophomore Alexa Garcia.