My first major purchase of the year was an answering machine. Though it did seem strange toiling with the silly thing, fussing with the rewinding and fast forwarding, waiting for the beeps and just finding space for another piece of technology in my dorm room, I made a promise in the name of American democracy.
To show my freedom of expression, I have boycotted CampusLink.
So far, I think my answering machine is giving me less trouble than CampusLink with its petty charges, ridiculous bills and patronizing operators.
Last year’s on-campus students know all about this. It is not too hard to forget last year’s CampusLink capers:
• Students charged double for service.
• Students given late fees because bills did not arrive on time.
• Students being charged for other residents’ phone calls.
• Off campus students receiving bills
• Students on hold for hours waiting for customer service agents to get to their complaints.
The Office of Housing and Residential Life gave CampusLink another shot this year. They attributed the problems of last year to transition, with CampusLink buying out Fujitsu, the last failed phone service we were subjected to. They said this year things would be different. I just did not think it was worth the risk of a repeat of last year.
There is something empowering about announcing you have decided to boycott. It reminds me of the ’60s, when American youth actually cared and rebelled against the decisions others made for them.
Think of how many things could change if students refused to accept some of the poor decisions of bureaucrats at this University. Though not all decisions have been bad, someone’s eyes need to be opened in the area of one-choice phone service.
Why is it so difficult to break from the monopoly of corporate America at this institution? It is amazing that we future leaders of the free world still cannot choose which company will handle our communication service, voice mail and phone bills, which, incidentally, become our credit histories. It is even more amazing that after a year of problems, complete with angry students, complaints and numerous articles in this paper, residential life has yet again decided to give CampusLink another shot.
I understand the reasoning behind Director of Residential Life Derek Vergara’s decision. True, we change phone companies every year and with the changes comes transition problems. CampusLink may rise to the occasion in its second year. He could be right.
And if he is not, the solution he proposed gave me a shred of hope. If CampusLink does not shape up and students are in favor of a change, he said he would consider switching phone service whenever needed. He is also working on a task force to improve phone service, which is also a step in the right direction. Great ideas, but it will depend on how well CampusLink dances.
Since bills have yet to arrive, there is no way of telling if my intuition has proven to be correct. And if I have indeed foreseen more CampusLink capers, only time will tell if we will see some changes, as the decisions of the Housing Office will determine their integrity.
Still, I question what this decision making means in the scope of democracy, capitalistic competition and basic consumer rights. As bill payers, residents of the University should have the power to choose what they pay for. Instead, Residential Life took the power and rewarded a failed business with another loyal year of service.
I will not be a forced CampusLink loyalist. For me, the combination that will replace CampusLink will be 1-800-CALL-ATT and my new answering machine. If you call and get a strange beep, a delayed greeting, or nothing at all, bear with me for a few days until I figure the thing out.
Patience is a virtue – at least that is what Res Life seems to tell us year after year. I have a more appropriate cliché for the students – if you want something done right, do it yourself.
Andrea Gardner, a senior broadcast journalism major is editor in chief of the Campus Times. She can be reached by e-mail at gardnera@ulv.edu.
