Can you hear me now?

With only 1,347 subscriptions to WesTel this semester, the University is finally realizing that the majority of students prefer to communicate by cell phone. While students can decline WesTel service, the University decided a change needed to be made in order to improve communication among students on campus. Now a cell or other contact number must be registered, which will be displayed online on the Wesleyan network. According to the University, safety is the main motivation for this change in the event students need to be contacted in an emergency. This is understandable, but it raises the privacy question, as some students do not want their cell phone numbers listed online. The University has partially addressed this issue by allowing students to withhold their numbers from the paper directory, but numbers will still be available for anyone on the network.

If the University feels that students need to be in contact with the Wesleyan community, e-mail access aside, the solution is to provide free landlines. Most of us who have cell phones do not pay for WesTel because the combined costs are too expensive. Cell phones pose problems, however, since it is difficult to contact those who do not have an 860 area code. Providing land phones would put everyone within the same system, ensuring convenience and safety. Best of all, privacy would be maintained for those who wish to keep their cell numbers confidential.

The use of cell phones is only going to become more widespread. If the University believes communication within the community is a necessity, then it should provide a telephone service free of charge or at a much discounted rate. We have grown accustomed to free Internet access, which connects all faculty, students and administrators. Faculty and staff offices are linked to the University phone system. Blue light phones dot the campus landscape. It seems contradictory that this important means of communication is not available to students.