By Cara Gargano
So we’ve all been there: giving the hottie at the bar your number and then sitting by the phone the next day in hopes that he calls. And of course there’s been that time when he never calls. Then the next time the hottie walks by, you feel the need to call him out on why he didn’t call when he replies, “I did try to call you but your phone just rang and rang and rang, I never even got to the voicemail.” Bad cell phone service got you down? Join the club.
“I have T-Mobile service and I never get service anywhere,” Courtney Kaczak, sophomore Public Relations Major, said. “I don’t get service in the Student Center, Dempster, or any building for that matter. If I get service it only lasts for about five minutes before it cuts out.”
These days there are many cell phone services to choose from: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and Nextel are among the top names in wireless services. Well we put these services to the test asking the question, who has the best service on the University’s campus?
Lately it’s hard to find a student without a cell phone or a cigarette in hand. The campus is filled with students on the phone. The unispan in particular is always filled with students talking on their cell phones. Talking on a cell phone helps to make the long, cold walk to class seem shorter and less of a pain.
However, most University students are very dependent on their cell phone because in all honesty, who has the time to remember that 10 digit pin you are to use when you call out from the dorms? Therefore, whether it’s a long distance call home or just a five-minute conversation to let a friend into the dorms, University students’ cell phones are constantly in use.
“I have Sprint service and I never get service in my dorm room,” Nicole Hazar, a sophomore elementary education major, said. “I live in Colonial Square Far East and I have to walk outside my building in order to get service, it’s so annoying.”
Hazar isn’t the only one that has trouble getting service in her dorm room; many students don’t get service in their rooms, especially in the Netherlands. “My cell phone works fine everywhere except the Netherlands,” Andrew Domings, junior psychology major who has AT&T service, said.
“I live in Suffolk, it’s not bad here but when we were in the Netherlands last year it was horrible,” Scott Silverman, a sophomore accounting major, said.
“I have Verizon Service and I get good service on all parts of campus except Nassau/Suffolk and right by C.V. Starr,” Samantha Spector, a sophomore print journalism major, said. “Other than that, my phone does pretty well but that could also be due to the fact that it has the longest antenna ever.”
“I have Sprint and the service is good outside but in the buildings you lose service from time to time,” Silverman said.
As for the academic side of campus, service is pretty good for all carriers. The best service is of course outside the buildings, but once you enter an academic building, you’ll usually get service on the main and top floors but don’t ever attempt to call or text anyone in the basement of Breslin Hall.
“I always lose service in the basement of buildings and then sometimes in my room, I’ll like have service one minute and the next I won’t,” Silverman said.
“Most dorms are awesome but on the bottom floors of buildings I never have service,” Don Dearie, a sophomore Business major Nextel subscriber, said.
“I sometimes get service in the student center but not where they sell food, just where I eat it,” Hazar said.
“Actually I may be one in a million, but I usually get service at Hofstra,” John Miller, a sophomore English Major, said. “I mean there are times where it craps out, but those times are few and far between.”
According to University students, Verizon customers were the most satisfied because they got service not only in their dorms, but also the student center and all the academic buildings. However, sometimes you’ll find that you’ve got a voicemail when your cell phone never rang.
Cell phone service can be very tricky. There will always be the high spots where you will get service, like in front of the bookstore or over the unispan, and there will be low areas, including the Netherlands, but until more towers are built around campus, you will find yourself saying, “Can you hear me now?”
Freshmen Sumbel Zeb (left) and Colin Schur (right) are experiencing excellent cell phone service with their Verizon cell phones while talking to their friends in the Student Center. (Paul Palazzolo)