Wrong number?

By Rachel Keller
Critic Staff

Phone line mix-up causes confusion.

When the parents of Lyndon State freshman, Laura Lenfest, tried to reach their daughter by calling her campus telephone, the greeting they received surprised them.
It was not their daughter on the other end, nor was it her roommate; it was “some girl named Heather,” says Lenfest. Though Heather’s identity was never discovered, it was clear that there was something amok with the telephones.
As other instances in the Wheelock residence hall surfaced, Michael Dente, director of I.T. was notified, Wednesday, September 24, that phone lines had apparently been crossed.
What was the reason for this mix up? Last week, workers focused on phone lines in the Vail and Wheelock buildings, and when the dug-up materials had to be put back, roughly 1200 color-coded cords had to be matched with their corresponding colors. This had to be completed absolutely “perfectly” says Dente, in order for the job to be successful.
“In Vail, it was done just right” Dente said. “We had no reason to suspect otherwise in Wheelock. We figured it was correct.” Even if only a few cords were not matched correctly, it could have the side effects that the building had been experiencing.
Repairs began at 8 a.m. on Thursday, September 25, and the cord mix-up is expected to be resolved before the weekend.