Mail Error Costs Students Phone Service Still Room for Improvement

SINCE 1916 VOLUME 80, NUMBER 15 A NEW GEORGE IN WASHINGTON? JANUARY 15, 1993 Mail error costs students phone service Still room for improvement.. where the mail goes," said senior going to arrive before break. "They by Sam Cole Lauren Enck, whose phone service said there was nothing they could do was disconnected. unless everybody phoned individu- A misplaced bag of Lovett Col- "It's inconvenient My parents are ally," she said. "Those people who lege mail may cost residents hun- calling my friends," said sophomore phoned didn't have a problem." dreds of dollars. Sara Maurer, who shares a line with Mail Service Supervisor James The college's phone bills, among her suitemates. Dibble said the campus police con- other items, were contained in the tacted him when Ijovett residents bag, and many students' phone ser- We shouldn't have to reported some checks missing in the vices were cut off, said Lovett Secre- mail. "They didn't tell me a bag of tary Marilyn Weatherford.These stu- pay. It's not our mail was lost They just said some dents must pay a $15 fee to have their checks," said Dibble. service reinstated. One student had to have a tuition The mail bag was mistakenly responsibility [to watch] check canceled. The missing check placed in a box in the Lovett elevator "caused a great deal of angst... since lobby a few weeks before final exami- over where the mail it was a very large check," said junior nations. Itwasfound over break when Michael Woodbury. "Whoever lost it maintenance personnel tried to move goes.' in the mail [should pay for canceling the box in order to wax the floor and the check]. The university bears discovered it was unusually heavy. —Lauren Enck some responsibility." "The Lovett College mailbox on Lovett College is investigating the walkway was removed for re- At least two students lost airline means of paying for the reinstate- pair," said Weatherford. The person tickets in the mail bag and had to ment of the phone service. "We'll try who delivered the mail "didn't know have them reissued. "I had to have to be reimbursed in some fashion," where to leave it, I guess," she said. my ticket replaced, and I had to pay said Lovett President Jason Kinn. According to Weatherford, the an extra 50 bucks. We also got our It is unclear exactly how many mail bag was delivered on Saturday phone turned off," said Lovett senior rooms had phone service cut off, but by someone who does not normally Caroline Conn. students estimate the number at deliver the mail. "It was an under- Weatherford said she called about 20. This would make the total standable mistake," she said. Southwestern Bell at the end of the phone service reconnection fee close "We shouldn't have to pay. It's not examination period when she real- to $300. our responsibility [to watch] over i2ed that the phone bills were not Only rooms with large phone bills were disconnected, and some students called Southwestern Bell and The new sign at the entrance to the Will Rice parking lot has bigger CK debits acounts by mistake mailed in checks before leaving for letters than the old one, but the spelling needs work. the break. Wiess cabinet members to request a by Sei Chong printout Campbell, Somers, and Sul- tan also found that many of the appar- Several members of Wiess Col- ent errors occurred on the same days. Rice tries to accommodate handicapped lege reported discrepancies in their "The only reason I got my printout are already wheelchair accessible. technical manager at Facilities and Central Kitchen meal plan accounts was to see if there were discrepan- by Amy Jeter The rebuilding of each bathroom Engineering. last semester and have since been cies on the same dates. And they costs about $12,000. This line of logic led to improve- reimbursed by CK. were all the same except one," Sultan Work on these projects was sup- ments in parking and sidewalks. Com- Senior Kay Somers said she asked said. Renovations to make the ground- posed to take place last summer, but pleted alterations include ramps at for a printout of her expenses after Fifteen to 18Wiess members have floor restrooms of Brown, Lovett and Truscott said time problemsand bud- the entrances of the Allen Center, unexpectedly running out of money since requested an account history Wiess Colleges wheelchair acces- get constraints delayed the improve- Bonner Lab and Space Science build- on her mealplan.Theprintouts,avail- report said Millie Cochran, systems sible are nearing completion. ments. ings, a pool lift and wheelchair-acces- able on request from CK, show every manager for CK She said the errors The renovations, begun in late "We had wanted to get the work sible racquetball court at the gym, transaction made on a meal plan ac- occurred because of a transfer of December, are in accordance with done before the freshmen arrived and lowering the tray slide at count. computer files. "During fall break, a the Americans with Disabilities Act ratherthan presentnew studentswith Sammy's. " [ On the printout] I had spent $40 new computer was installed and the of 1990, which stipulates certain stan- a great big mess," Truscott said. The next projects will concern the on food in one week." Somers said. transactions during fall break were dards for accommodation of the dis- Although all went well at Lovett, entrances to much-used buildings She estimates the total amount lost at backed up on a disk. The balances abled in public places. Regulations remodelers at Brown experienced and the accessibility of restrooms about $40. were held in memory, and only the applicable to college campuses went problems such as an accidental elec- and elevators. A particular focus will Senior Celeste Campbell said she balance is reflected on these dates, into effect Jan. 26,1992. tricity shortage and the flooding of be placed on improving accessibility found similar errors. "In one place, not the transactions," she said. In Rice's long-term plan for achiev- the commons as a result of Houston's to Lovett Hall and the post office. the balance read $74.91 and I bought This would account for the appar- ing this standard, altering the bath- something worth 32 cents. The new ent calculation mistakes, she said. rooms and entrances to the colleges Problems with accessibility to balance read $58.66," she said. She No members of other colleges re- are the current priority. Health Services, currently located at also was charged $12.81 during the ported any similar problem with their "We mainly established a priori- 'I'm sure that someday Hanszen College, have prompted the fall break, while she was out of town. accounts, she said. She noted that tized list of how we will proceed with consideration of relocating the de- Campbell estimates she lost $34.48. Wiess was the only college affected [installing wheelchair-accessible fa- someone will walk in partment Blackwelder said the complete Senior Fred Sultan asked for an because the computer error occurred cilities] in the residential colleges," renovations of the university, which account history when Somers advised as the Wiess files were transferred. said Residential Colleges Coordina- here and be very glad tor Bob Truscott "What was most will cost about $500,000, will be com- important, that we saw, was to allow we have a bathroom pleted in 1997. However, she said people to get into public areas and she will continue to look for ways to Gramm visits Rice commons, then to build a strategy make the campus more accessible for room availability." they can use.' after these projects are completed. Rice's plan for alteratio n s was co n- "Even when the bulk of the work ceived last spring by representatives —Carolyn Brelsford is done, we would want to meet with of the Facilities and Engineering, Af- a person to find if they have any firmative Action, and Human Re- overflowing sewers. At Wiess, the individual need above and beyond sources departments, and Shirley discovery that certain walls were not what is available," said Blackwelder. Redwine, Rice general counsel. securely fastened to the floor made The law only hits the happy me- Builders began work on the col- repairs necessary. dium. I never consider the work fin- leges Dec. 16 and are scheduled to Construction on Baker, Hanszen, ished." complete the work on single bath- and Will Rico Colleges, to begin this Before the Americans with Dis- roomsatLovettandWiessonJan. 18. summer, will include a ramp or lift to abilities Act, Rice accommodated dis- Because workers are remodeling two the buildings' front doors as well as a abled students and faculty by han- restrooms at Brown, work there is to wheelchair-accessible restroom on dling problems only as they arose, be finished a week later. the ground floors. not with any general plan. "I'm sure that someday someone The most difficult project will be will walk in here and be very glad we at Sid Richardson College, due to the SPORTS have a bathroom they can use," said height of the existing outside en- Carolyn Brelsford, Brown College trance. It will be the last college to co-master. receive renovations, With work be- A&M In 1988, Lovett became the first ginning in the summer of 1994. residential college to make facilities In addition to the construction basketball for wheelchairs when a ramp was taking place in the residential col- installed at the building's entrance to leges, Rice's Facilities and Engineer- team's luck U.S.

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