Jori Zimmerman said she doesn’t get cell phone service in any buildings on campus.
And she’s not alone. Students who use AT&T receive poor, if any, service in the academic buildings and residence halls.
“I have two classes in the basement of Burgess,” Zimmerman said. “Everyone who has AT&T doesn’t get service. Even the teacher doesn’t get service.”
Student Body Vice President Ben Koch said this is a safety concern.
New campus policy requires at least one student, who is registered to receive emergency text messages from ForeWarn, to have a cell phone turned on vibrate in every class.
“Because Bradley has a lot of students who have AT&T, these students could literally not get a [ForeWarn] text message,” Koch said.
The Association of Residence Halls and Student Senate have proposed a solution to administration to combat this problem.
The organizations have proposed buying repeaters, so students will receive better cell phone reception.
Nick Stocchero, the technology chairman for ARH, said repeaters work like a personal cell phone tower.
They would be put in buildings around campus. Then students with AT&T would receive cell phone reception, and students with different cell phone providers would receive even better cell phone reception, he said.
“I’m unsure if we would buy one for each building or a huge one for all of campus,” Stocchero said. “But the prices are affordable enough for the university.”
Koch said administration has been receptive to students’ concerns about not having cell phone reception.
It’s unsure if, or when, repeaters will be purchased, but Stocchero said he is looking to make things happen in the near future.
“I personally have AT&T right now, so I’m trying to get it as soon as possible,” he said.
Stocchero said no one from Bradley has been in direct contact with AT&T, and anyone who says AT&T isn’t receptive to Bradley students’ complaints is making up rumors.
He said ARH hopes to be in contact with AT&T soon, and it is possible that AT&T could purchase the repeaters for campus.
Zimmerman said she would feel much safer with the purchase of repeaters.
“Sometimes I don’t even get service until five minutes after I come out of an academic building,” she said. “I’ve been able to get service everywhere in Peoria except the Bradley bubble.”
Zimmerman said cell phone service would be especially helpful late at night.
“The biggest concern for me is safety,” she said. “I studied a lot in the basement of Olin [Hall] last year and the basement at night is like a dungeon. It was scary.”
