Land-line phones needed in emergency, officials say

Several college campuses across the nation are dropping land-line phones in student residence halls. But for the University of Richmond, dorm phones are a crucial component to the university's emergency communication strategy.

"Because we get such poor cellular coverage in residence halls and buildings on campus, we feel that landlines are important to keep in place," said Doug West, director of the Office of Telecommunications.

Having phones in dorms is a good safety measure, West said. In the event of an emergency, all dorm phones are called with the emergency message. Students are given the ability to have their cell phones contacted as well, but with poor cellular coverage on campus, it's an unreliable method of contact.

"We've actually responded to parents of freshmen that have asked what we are doing for emergency preparedness," West said. "And that's a good answer we have to give back to those parents and students who are concerned about being reached in an emergency."

Becky Kauffman, a senior and frequent land-line user, said she used her dorm phone because of poor cell phone service in the dorms. Even if her cell phone worked in the buildings, she would still use her landline for local babysitting calls and to call the four-digit extensions of campus numbers, Kauffman said.

"I have used my dorm phone since freshman year," Kauffman said. "And this year I have a cordless with an answering machine, so I use it even more."

But sophomore Lauren Venditti has never had a phone in her dorm room and doesn't intend to get one.

"[I would only get one] if my cell phone wasn't working for some reason," Venditti said. "I'm hardly ever just sitting in my room chatting on the phone. If I'm talking to someone like that, it's while I'm walking somewhere on campus."

West said the university was aware that many students might not use land-line phones.

"But one of the things that we think is important to consider is the emergency communications protocol," he said.

West explained that a 911 call made from a land-line phone on campus is sent directly to the campus police department, resulting in a quick response to the emergency. But a 911 call made from a cell phone dials the City of Richmond or Henrico police departments, which creates a delay. In addition, the land-line phones continue to work in a power outage situation because they have their own source of backup power.

Despite the role landlines play in Richmond's emergency response system, West said the school was still exploring the benefits of removing landlines all together.

Richmond currently rents 1,500 phone numbers from Verizon that are assigned to the dorms. Removing landlines from dorms could potentially be a cost-cutting measure, but it doesn't offer huge savings, West said. The money saved would not be enough to seriously consider removing the lines.

Matt Whittaker, president of the Richmond College Student Government Association, said RCSGA had considered adding a new tower to improve cell phone service if the administration decided to follow other universities and remove land-lines. Senators began having conversations last fall.

"We had several conversations with Dr. Bisese and Doug West," he said. "At that time they were thinking mainly about putting in a new tower. The problems are that it would have to be a neutral tower ... and so we would have to pay for it. It would also potentially be an eye sore."

Though West said the savings wouldn't equal much, an antenna system funded from land line savings could offer a solution, but it hadn't yet been discussed, Whittaker said.

"I think that, long term, it probably makes sense to remove land-line phones from the dorms," West said. "We haven't made any plans to do that, but we have talked about it."

But there has been discussion about providing each dorm room with a phone, which would allow residents to have a working phone available.

"If the school is going to provide the line and the phone for emergencies, I think that's a great idea," said Jason LaValla, a senior whose apartment is currently without a land-line. "For all other purposes, however, I wouldn't want to deal with it. Cell phones are just easier."

RCSGA senators are working to arrange a meeting with Steve Bisese, vice president for student development; Dee Hardy, director of dining services; Joseph Boehman, Richmond College's dean; Juliette Landphair, Westhampton College's dean; Patrick Benner and Angie Harris, residence life deans; and West "to get all of the key parties for this decision in one room to talk it through," Whittaker said.

"Other schools that have gone this route have used a student survey to get a gauge for land-line use, and the SGA's could likely be helpful in this area," Whittaker said. "The feeling of the RCSGA is that most people would probably be in favor of shutting off the majority of the residence hall land-line phones if they knew that the abysmal cell phone service on this campus could be improved."

Whitakker said these ideas would continue to be discussed during their weekly meetings.

Contact reporter Brittany Combs at brittany.combs@richmond.edu