By LAUREN BLUTH
Students living in on-campus housing units experienced a loss of phone service at the beginning of spring term. Due to a change in the phone system provided by IT services, all dorm and apartment phones were removed from on-campus housing units.
The transition for single students was smooth since the change was made in between semesters, said Paul Barton, general manager of single student residence life.
?We were prepared for it,? Barton said. ?We did notify the students and often times that makes a difference.?
Students are now responsible for purchasing their own phones for their rooms, which now provides them with a chance to go cordless if they choose. However, they will also have to purchase a voicemail system.
Despite the changes, Barton said he hasn?t received any complaints from students in Helaman Halls or Deseret Towers.
For students in Wymount and Wyview, the change was more difficult to deal with, said Ben Erwin, a resident of Wymount.
?They?re taking away our phones and making us do special things to accommodate their phone systems,? Erwin said.
Besides having to purchase new phone equipment, the change in the phone system also affected Wymount residents? ability to communicate.
?You could forward a message to everyone in the ward,? he said. ?It really kept our ward communicated and linked up. But they?re taking that away, and it?s my understanding they will not provide a new phone or answering machine.?
With changes in the phone service, and the possibility of an increase in rent looming in the future, he said some of his neighbors have even decided to move.
The housing office declined to comment on the current change in phone service or the possibility of an increase in rent for married housing.
Despite the changes, the benefits of living at Wymount still outweigh the disadvantages, said Sarah Erwin, Ben?s wife.
?We?ve looked, but everything else I?ve seen doesn?t feel as safe or doesn?t have as much space,? she said. ?There are definite advantages to living here overall, or else we wouldn?t be here.?
