Tracking system installed in hopes of deterring

by Joe Elliott perspectiveseditor

How would you feel if every time you picked up the phone, the person on the other end of the line just hung up?

How would you feel if every time you picked up the phone, somebody told you that you were going to die, or you were ugly?

For some, getting a prank phone call is something that we do not think about.

Sometimes, people just think it is a joke. Others think it is more serious.

According to a first-year female student living in Xavier, who has been receiving prank phone calls, it is not a joke.

"I received my first phone call two weeks ago. The person who called me said that he was going to kill me," the first-year student said. "I immediately contacted Public Safety, and they, in tum, contacted the Radnor Police Department."

6 p.m., Widener

Prank Phone Calls

According to Rich McErlean, director of vice. According to Jack Shan, director of public safety, there have been two females public safety at Eastern College, prank that have been receiving harassing phone phone calls have not been a problem this calls over the past two year. weeks. 'Tm optimistic

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~ "In the year before last, that the matter will be re- "Thisinstanceis when the school had solved," McErlean said. placed phones in all the Due to the amount of isolatedand is being residence halls, we expericomplexity behind the taken care of." enced some problems with whole investigation, which prank phone calls. The is being lead by the Rad- problem was immediately nor Police Department, -Rich McErlean taken care of because the McErlean is "not at liberty director of public safety school went out and into talk about what methods ____________ vested money in a phone are being used at this system that would be able time."

"We have not had a growing amount of prank phone calls this year," McErlean said about this year. "Fortunately, this instance has been isolated and is being taken care of."

In comparison with both Villanova University and Eastern College, Cabrini seems to be lacking in the area of telephone ser- to have public safety access the main phone computer and look at the past 20,000 phone calls that were made on campus."

With this, Eastern College has been able to virtually eliminate prank phone calls altogether.

"We really went after the students, and set out the rules, which the students really have seemed to follow," Shan commented.

As for Villanova, Director of Public Safety Jeff Horton said, "Most of the prank phone calls have come from off-campus phone callers, most of which have lead to arrests."

Villanova and Eastern, unlike Cabrini, have a system that is in place to monitor who calls who from campus phone to campus phone. Villanova has had a system in place for close to five years, which has greatly aided the Villanova Department of Public Safety in fighting the war against prank phone calls.

As for Cabrini, according to McErlean, "We have the capability and have been considering using a tracing system in the future."

Joyce Mckeough, administrative manager, had something different to say, "There is a system that has been put into place, after Public Safety was in contact with me."