Solicitation calls to student extension continue
Kathleen Given
Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: News
Despite the rising popularity of cell phones, Smith students are still provided with landlines in all residential houses. Although the phones are in many ways a convenience, they produce frustration among students who receive unwanted calls to their rooms.
Some students receive calls from credit card companies soliciting credit applications. Liz Brasington '11 is one such student. She received calls last year and again recently this semester. Brasington called the solicitation "super annoying" and complained that the callers are "very aggressive and just keeping pushing you to sign up with them."
"Smith should do more to stop the calls," she said.
However, according to Mary Clayton, the telephone operator for Information Technology Services, "Smith really has no control over the solicitation calls coming in." Even she receives several prerecorded calls and said that she can "understand the frustration."
Students point to the online student directory, which makes student extensions readily available to the public, as a possible cause of these unwanted calls. Alexandra Ghiz '12 said that she was "surprised that numbers are available to everyone, especially in a day and age where society is less safe." While she agreed that it is good for other Smith students to have access to her number, she questioned whether it is the right decision to make it public: "Technology is moving so fast that sometimes it's hard to remember that things can go too far."
Brasington also agreed, citing the fact that "other schools have private directories."
Clayton, however, doubts that the directory is a source for telemarketers to obtain numbers. "Before the online directory, these telemarketing calls were being received and causing the same frustration," she said. Instead, Clayton posits that companies purchase lists or have random lists created to generate their calling base.
Clayton believes that the online directory is necessary and that it does not "relate at all to telemarketers." She said that it allows family and friends to easily access students' extensions without going through a central operator, which eliminates "thousands of calls per day." Students can also request to have their numbers removed from the directory.
Additionally, students can register for the National Do Not Call Registry (http://donotcall.gov). According to their Web site, "once you register your phone number, telemarketers have up to 31 days to stop calling you." This may, perhaps, be the best option for students who are continually plagued by unwanted telephone calls.
Some students receive calls from credit card companies soliciting credit applications. Liz Brasington '11 is one such student. She received calls last year and again recently this semester. Brasington called the solicitation "super annoying" and complained that the callers are "very aggressive and just keeping pushing you to sign up with them."
"Smith should do more to stop the calls," she said.
However, according to Mary Clayton, the telephone operator for Information Technology Services, "Smith really has no control over the solicitation calls coming in." Even she receives several prerecorded calls and said that she can "understand the frustration."
Students point to the online student directory, which makes student extensions readily available to the public, as a possible cause of these unwanted calls. Alexandra Ghiz '12 said that she was "surprised that numbers are available to everyone, especially in a day and age where society is less safe." While she agreed that it is good for other Smith students to have access to her number, she questioned whether it is the right decision to make it public: "Technology is moving so fast that sometimes it's hard to remember that things can go too far."
Brasington also agreed, citing the fact that "other schools have private directories."
Clayton, however, doubts that the directory is a source for telemarketers to obtain numbers. "Before the online directory, these telemarketing calls were being received and causing the same frustration," she said. Instead, Clayton posits that companies purchase lists or have random lists created to generate their calling base.
Clayton believes that the online directory is necessary and that it does not "relate at all to telemarketers." She said that it allows family and friends to easily access students' extensions without going through a central operator, which eliminates "thousands of calls per day." Students can also request to have their numbers removed from the directory.
Additionally, students can register for the National Do Not Call Registry (http://donotcall.gov). According to their Web site, "once you register your phone number, telemarketers have up to 31 days to stop calling you." This may, perhaps, be the best option for students who are continually plagued by unwanted telephone calls.
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