This is unacceptable. The administration should follow the example set by President Marx, when, after issuing a smoking ban, he apologized and promised to consult students during future decisions involving the entire campus.
Under the new phone service plan, students and faculty will no longer be connected through a network, forcing students to dial seven digits instead of four to get in contact with their professors from a room phone. Students also will have to pay a $5 monthly fee for voicemail and the College will no longer offer a long-distance plan. The previous long-distance provider, ECCI, did not offer the College a new contract, forcing students to arrange their own long-distance service with a private provider. This new system will only further decrease the number of students with room phones.
The College should pay the necessary price to include students in the faculty and administration network. If the College is concerned about the lack of students using the phone service, it should include the cost of phone service in tuition. For some students, a major reason for not having a room phone is the out-of-pocket cost each month. Instead of solving the problem, the administration has exacerbated it, pushing more students away from room phones and toward cell phones.
Students without room phones must call long distance to reach their professors, and professors and administrators will be forced to make long-distance calls to get in touch with students who have out-of-state cellular phone numbers.
Ultimately, our concern is not only with the decision that was made, but also with the manner in which it was made. The administration should not bypass discussion with students on issues that directly affect us, and when they make decisions, they should promptly announce them to the whole student body. Whether student discussion is facilitated through the student body itself or through its elected representatives on the AAS, the administration needs to allow us the opportunity to make our voices heard.