In a brief e-mail last Thursday, University Registrar John Q. Pierce asked that students submit their cell phone numbers to his office.
While Pierce said that his office has already received many students’ numbers, some students seemed surprised at the request.
Adam Raff (CAS ‘05) said that he was initially taken aback that the university would ask for what he considers a private phone number:
“With all of today’s spam, junk mail and solicitors, I try to keep my cell phone for personal use only,” he said. When I first saw the email, the last thing I wanted to do was to submit my cell phone number for some unknown cause.”
“Frankly, I did not submit it because I was not given a good reason to do so,” Raff said.
Pierce said that he asked students for their cell phone numbers at the request of the undergraduate deans’ offices.
“Deans need a quick way to reach students by phone,” he said.
As cell phones have become the primary means of telephone communication, many Georgetown students have ceased to use landline telephones in their campus residences.
Pierce said that students will not be required to submit their cell phone numbers.
“I don’t believe in mandatory,” he said. “I presume that most students would want their deans to be able to reach them.”
Cell numbers will not be published in the campus directory, nor will they be accessible to outside sources, Pierce said.
“They will only be available to the deans’ offices and are to be used to reach students for significant academic reasons,” he said.
Vice President of Student Affairs Todd Olson affirmed the need for the new policy.
“This new approach, which is completely optional for students, will be helpful in connecting our campus and allowing more effective communication among students, faculty and administrators,” he said.
Pierce pointed out that before the cell phone age, students had been reachable at almost any hour through their dorm or house phones.
“I don’t see this policy as any real change,” he said.
“It is just our attempt to keep up with the changing technology choices of the students. This is an evolution in the information we are asking for.”
