The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: Opinions

Dead dial tone

Since students rarely use dorm phones, all the housing lines aren't necessary

Dorm dwellers may not have a landline in the future. Although being able to call anywhere on campus with four digits and not using cell phone minutes your parents often complain about may be nice on occasion, how many on-campus residents actually use these phones to call their friends in a dorm across campus?

In today's society of rapidly changing technology, most University students have their mobile phones on hand at all times - whether they're talking or texting.

Each landline costs about $20 per month to maintain, according to an article on page 3. Since this all but antiquated technology is rarely used, we think it would be worthwhile for the University to save money on a service that, if removed, would not inconvenience most students.

This extra money, if applied in the manner of peer institutions, would be used to keep resident hall rates from increasing.

Although the majority of students no longer use landlines, we hope the University will keep some phone lines available for students living on campus without cell phones.

To this effect, we suggest having several phones available for resident use in each residence hall - perhaps a phone on each floor in a lounge area could be activated by UGA IDs like the hand scanners at the front of each building.

Since landlines quickly are becoming a thing of the past, we applaud the University in looking to move forward in the 21st century.

- Melanie McNeely for the editorial board

Not-so-Hot Corner

The coffee-shop atmosphere of an Athens landmark is undergoing major changes

Athens' Hot Corner will have a new look soon, though it remains to be seen if the change is for the better.

As of Feb. 22, the coffee shop is the property of Trappeze owners Eric Johnson, a University alumnus, and Mike Vernelson, and it will feature booths, higher-quality coffee and a new paint job.

Though Hot Corner has been open only since early 2004, it has been a haven for students looking for a place to study and have quiet conversations over a cup of joe.

Simple coffee shops such as Hot Corner are disappearing as cookie-cutter chains take their place and serve the masses. The perpetual business hours, the worn couches, the rickety tables, the graffiti on the wall - everything that made Hot Corner what it was is being pushed aside in favor of a cleaner, more mature product.

The new owners say the coffee shop will be a better environment, but we are skeptical as to how all these changes will improve a shop that is like a second home to many students.

Hot Corner's old business model may not have been the most profitable, but it served an ongoing population of students and residents who needed a pick-me-up and a place to chill out.

Now with its quiet room becoming a bustling bar and the coffee shop becoming a part of that bar, Hot Corner as we knew it will be no more.

Say what you want about progress, but this situation might have been better left alone.

- Phillip Kisubika for the editorial board

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