McDaniel removes dorm landlines

Kaitlyn Vadenais September 17, 2010 No Comments

Simone Davis

Staff Reporter

McDaniel has stopped providing campus phones from all dorm rooms. The phones, removed every year in late spring before campus opens up to summer programs, simply weren’t returned to their respective rooms for the 2010-2011 school year.

This change has been occurring at other universities across the country as well, including the University of Kentucky, University of Florida, and William & Mary College.

“Students weren’t using them”, said Dr. Esther Iglish, McDaniel Colleges Chief Information Officer. A survey conducted among McDaniel students in December 2009 revealed that 89 percent of students never or rarely used the campus landlines. “The phones never worked, anyway,” said freshman Alexis Davis.

“Students would trash them, or throw them from the windows,” Iglish said, “Removing them only made since everyone uses their cell phones.”

Though the unused phones have been removed from the dorms, phones are still open to student use if requested. “The option is left open out of concern mainly for foreign exchange students [whose] cell phones don’t work here”, Dr. Iglsih informs, “The phones are a just in case.”

Out of 600 phones, 4 people this semester have requested a phone be returned to their room.

Tags: communication, phone linesNews