So, Canvas went down last night.
Actually, Canvas went down at around 11:49 p.m. last night, and I went down with it.
A captain always goes down with their ship, I guess. Except, I don’t even like my ship. In fact, my ship makes me cry occasionally.
Apparently, Amazon Web Services had an outage and several websites stopped working — Canvas being one of them, obviously. I’ve received numerous emails today regarding the inconvenience with the subject line of: Canvas Outage.
“Dear students,
The known outage is being worked on by AWS. Except AWS does not know how or when it will be solved. It’s every student for themselves. Something, something, something.
Best,
Professor Someone”
Despite this reminder, I have continuously tried to go onto Canvas multiple times only to find that damn little rocket ship screen, because I keep forgetting. In my everyday life, Canvas is open all day, every day. I keep the tab snuggled in between my email and Slack. I need my Canvas fix. I need it.
I’m itching for it.
And not to mention LingroLearning. Yes, LingroLearning! Why is it the one time I try to do my Spanish homework before class the website is unavailable? I’m laughing, I hope you can hear it through the screen.
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I think the moment after refreshing the web page multiple times last night, I could hear the yells of agony and slams of knees on the floor from students in my apartment building.
Discussion posts. Deleted. Submissions. Gone. Stuff. Not there.
I can still hear the harrowing screams echoing in my ears from unfortunate souls who could not submit their assignments in time, preparing to walk the plank of professors deciding whether or not to keep homework on for the night.
I want a personal hand written apology saying why I could not turn my assignment in on time
— Lucien (@high5takes) October 20, 2025
Not me, though. Yes, it was still incredibly painful, but I had nothing due. Thank goodness. Except, this morning — I did have something due for Spanish, which I wasn’t able to do. Sigh.
Truly, deep down, maybe I miss Canvas. I have no clue when my next assignment is due or what grade I received on my assignment because I decided not to check it over the weekend, which stresses me out. It stresses me out more than when I actually have to look at those assignments, kind of.
But perhaps this is some sort of bliss I’m experiencing. The wretched ship is gone! I’m no longer in the wavering sea fighting off the Kraken. Instead, I’m holding on for my little life, strapped to a life jacket as I look out to the forever stretching sea waiting for a savior.
I feel myself drift into a slumber as the salty air breezes my face. Maybe this is an acceptance of my life without Canvas.
Wait. Wait.
I see something in the distance.
A bright light emerging from the beautiful, blue ocean. I feel almost allured by it as a wave of joy hits me. What is this? Is that a ship surfacing?
Damn it, Canvas is back online.
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Edited by George Headley, Henry Smardo, Katrina Michalak and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at sjames51@asu.edu and follow @sennajames_ on X.
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Senna JamesManaging Editor
Senna James is a Managing Editor at The State Press. She is in her 5th semester with The State Press working previously as Community and Culture Editor and Community and Culture reporter.
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