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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1971)
190 telephone calls hourly not unusual for operators By GLORIA WROTEN Of the Emerald When was the last time you received 190 telephone calls in one day? Campus telephone operators receive during their busiest hour a total of 191 calls. Under the supervision of Vera Hall and the assistance of Dorothy Grover, a 16 hour telephone service located in the basement of Johnson Hall is available to aid students who want the phone numbers of the various departments and persons on campus. According to Ms. Hall these include, sorority and fraternity organizations, faculty and staff, dormitory numbers and a general student listing consisting of the names, addresses, and the telephone numbers of the 15,000 enrolled here at the University. “Just about anything on campus, we try to find the telephone numbers to,” Ms. Hall said. As of Aug. 23, 1970 the PBX board (a standard means of most campus telephone service), became obsolete as the Centrex took over as a means of cutting down the number of telephone calls, Ms. Hall stated. The invention of the Centrex (a device about the size of a stan dard typewriter), enabled the students to dial it themselves. Yet because the Centrex acts as a means of information, it now takes more time looking up the information the caller requests, she said. A cut in funds resulted in the reduction of the campus telephone employes Ms. Hall stated. Last year the University employed 18 Civil Service workers as telephone operators. Of that number, four worked part-time and 28 students assisted the Civil Service workers. The campus telephone staff now consists of five student operators and eight Civil Service laborers, including one who works part-time to fill the 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. operating shift. Ms. Grover noted that in terms of obtaining work-study employes, “there haven’t been any students wanting a job working with the telephone company.” “You could not be busy one minute,” notes Ms. Grover, “and the next minute be swamped with calls and not be busy the next minute.” If students would jot down the telephone numbers there would not be such a tie up with the calls, Ms. Hall stated. The busiest telephone hours (as noted by Pacific Northwest Bell) occur from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. where “probably an average of Photo by Kent Smith Campus telephone supervisor Vera Hall presides over the University telephones located in the basement of Johnson Hall. In place of the traditional switchboard she works with the typewriter-siied Centrex unit. 180 calls are received,” Ms. Grover said. From 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. 179 calls are received by the Centrex and from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. 191 calls are waiting to be an swered each day she added. Ms. Grover said there is a “normal” waiting time of 19 seconds when the operator gets on the line and replies the in formation the caller seeks. Campus operators usually aren’t swamped with calls on the weekend. Ms. Grover stated that only one operator is needed for non-busy hours. Yet she also noted that it all depends on what’s going on campus each week-end. The University also offers what is known as the WATS line. This service is available only to major departmental offices, Ms. Hall said. The Wide Area Telephone Service (WATS) stretches from the northern border of Washington to the southern tip of Nevada, as far east as the Colorado border and as far west as the coast. States within this WATS line are: Oregon, Washington, Northern and Central California, Nevada, Utah and Idaho. TONIGHT Collmgm 51 dm Inn Tricycle Races Come out and test your skill on the fastest trike track in town! Prizes to the iucky winners! The College Side Inn 643 College View Road 746-9303 If you don't know where it's at— ask a friend. New Jeff Beck •3.75 Chrystalship 837 Willamette Street 342-8932 Open daily until 10 p.m. including Sundays Introductory Lectures Wed. Nov. 3rd and 3:00 P.M. in North Straub 8:00 P.M. in 221 Allen Fryers Froth Whole I Bananas loldon Ripe I 8 lbs $1 lOO A Smoked Hams 49c Shank Half |£, AppleS Extra fancy 7lbs. 81 I Delicious Cottage Cheese 29e Lucerne Creamy Rich Pinf Beer 6 Pack ll-oz. Bottles I Heidelberg J TllllS Light Meat Chunk Style Star K^t Peas or Corn 6..$t frozen Bel Air 10 oz Pkgs Tomato Juice 29e Town House Rich & Tasty 46-oz. can Nalleys Tang 45e Salad Dressing Quart Prices effective: Thurs Fri Sat- Nov. 4th, 5th, and 6th Store Hours: 9:00 a m. to 10 p.m. every day at Safeway in Springfield and Eugene at 145 E. 18th, 1156 Hwy. 99N, 845 W. 6th, 1840 E. 13th, 1625 Harlow Rd., 40th and Donald and River Road.