Magazines, credit card companies and long-distance telephone services — what do they have in common? If you’re a student living in Northwestern’s residence halls, they may be giving you unwelcome wake-up calls.
“I’ve had two telemarketers call me in the middle of the afternoon,” said Sohil Shah, a Weinberg freshman and Willard Residential College resident. “I was taking a nap, and it made me mad.”
Some NU students complain about receiving unwanted telephone calls even on a daily basis.
Weinberg sophomore Megan Portanova said she received numerous calls from telemarketers last year. One credit card representative called Portanova and her roommate at 7 a.m. for several days before the pair asked the telemarketer to stop, Portanova said.
“Finally one day, (my roommate) answered the phone and said, ‘I have a spending limit larger than you’ve ever seen. Please stop calling me,'” Portanova said.
But other students said they receive few or no calls from telephone solicitors.
“I don’t get them that much, honestly,” said Medill junior Billy Welkowitz, who lives in the Cultural and Community Studies Residential College. “This entire school year I’ve had maybe three calls.”
Weinberg freshman and Elder Hall resident Eileen Penner noted that some students receive a disproportionate number of calls in comparison with their peers.
“I’ve had maybe one (call),” Penner said. “But my roommate gets them a lot.”
NU administrators said they do not know why some students receive phone calls from telemarketers and others do not.
According to Wendy Woodward, director of Technology Support Services, NU does not provide companies with student telephone numbers. However, all student contact information is made public in the Northwestern University Directory.
“I suppose someone could come onto campus and pick up a directory,” Woodward said. “But we are not making those readily available to those who ask for them.”
Although NU officials said they oppose residence hall telephone solicitations, the university does not have specific policies against such calls.
“I don’t know how we would be able to impose them,” said Mary Goldenberg, senior associate director of Residential Life.
Even though some students complain offhandedly about telephone solicitors, neither Goldenberg nor Woodward said they have received any formal complaints.
“I am not aware of any complaints,” Woodward said. “If I did receive a complaint, I would advise the student to go the (online) telemarketing removal service provided by the U.S. government.”
The Do Not Call Registry, which started last year, allows individuals to sign up to have their phone numbers removed from telemarketing lists. The registry’s Web site is www.donotcall.gov.
Woodward said students also can directly ask telemarketers to stop contacting them.
“When you receive a phone call, you can ask ‘Is this a telemarketing call?’ If they said yes, then ask them to remove you from their list,” Woodward said.
She also stressed the importance of student accountability in handling telephone calls from solicitors.
“It is your phone number,” Woodward said. “It is up to you to manage your interaction with telemarketing companies.”
