As disagreements over the college’s involvement with corporations like Caterpillar and Aramark continue, there is relatively little to be heard about the proposal being drawn up, inviting cell phone companies and tower providers to bid for a spot on the top of the Clock Tower.
“I have felt for a long time that we need improved cell coverage,” says Vice President for Student Affairs Art Costantino, as he sat in his office looking out at the tower and over Red Square. “The students have come to expect coverage.”
Vice President for finance John Hurley said that the idea had been floating around for 3 or 4 years, but the project was jump-started when cell provider T-Mobile approached the college, offering as much as $10,000 for a cell tower on campus. Though this deal fell through, it generated enough interest in the administration to push the idea forward.
After the 2010-2011 “Student Affairs Division Fall Retreat”, Costantino put together a panel called the “Student Communication Tech Work Group”. Largely consisting of staff and faculty with one student member, this group was charged with putting together a survey to send out to the students. The survey asked if students thought improved cell phone coverage was important to them. Of the 364 respondents, 166 said it was “very important", and another 133 listed it as “somewhat important”. The committee concluded that the overwhelming student response was a clear indicator that we needed better cell service.
Improved cell phone coverage doesn’t sound so bad. I could be into that, but directly after the questions about cell phone use were questions about campus internet. One asked, “How important is it to you to have a fast internet connection?” to which 278 people responded, “very important”, and 70 more said, “somewhat important”. And 169 people said they had experienced internet problems on campus. So if the student response is the catalyst for change, then you have to wonder why we aren’t getting better internet. Regardless, the administration is taking the next step toward a cell tower.
This means the creation of a “Request for Proposal” form. Whenever the college is undertaking any major construction or renovation projects involving outside contractors, it compiles an RFP. The purpose of the RFP is to lay out the requirements of the college for a given project. It is then sent out into the free market where contractors bid for the job.
Aaron Powell, computing and communications director at the college, is heading the committee in charge of creating the proposal. He explains that the RFP will be finished when data from tests of the tower’s structural stability are completed. Apparently, the tower is relatively narrow for its height, and there is a question of whether or not it will even support additional weight. Also, access to the rooftop is considered outdated and unsafe for the amount of traffic which would be required for an antenna installation. For this reason, the college is planning on allocating funds to the remodeling of the clock tower infrastructure. This is separate from the Seismic updating which occurred earlier this year, with funds from FEMA.
If the tower is deemed strong enough to support the antenna, then the RFP will be sent out, and Aaron Powell says that the college is shooting for spring to have a vendor lined up.
There is no student involvement in the creation of the RFP, though Powell states that students may be on the vendor review committee. The committee only recommends preferred vendors and sends their review up to the Vice Presidents and Board of Trustees who will make the final decision.
When asked whether any research had been done into the potential health effects of a cell phone antenna, Hurley said that the campus safety officer had researched the question and concluded that risk was negligible. Powell acknowledged that there had been, “no exhaustive examination,” but rather a, “literature review.”
The Campus Land Use Committee has come up with sketches of what the antenna might look like, the leading answer being fake concrete walls that blend in with the concrete and hide the tower.