2 THE CURRIER TIMES DECEMBER 2010

Campus Life
Can You Hear Me Now?
By Nick Ironside
Its no secret to any Verizon Wireless customer at
Curry College that service is awful in certain buildings.
Whether youre in the Academic & Performance
Center, the Student Center or a variety of other facilities
on campus, reception is spotty at best. In fact, it is no
secret to AT&T customers either.
AT&T has the best coverage on campus, said
Shawna Welch, a freshman health major. No matter
where I go, I have service. Ive heard Verizons service
stinks and none of my friends ever get service.
Denny Hoatson, a freshman management major from
New Jersey, has Verizon as his cell phone carrier and
oIten fnds himselI missing calls and texts on campus.
Verizon is really good back home, and thats the plan
my family has, Hoatson said. Currys Verizon service
is terrible. It only seems like it is bad at Curry if you
have Verizon.
Fortunately for people like Hoatson, Verizon is
aware oI the problem and working to fnd a solution.
Michael Murphy, the New England region public
relations manager for Verizon, said his company has
been in touch with Curry`s administration to fgure out
a remedy.
I checked in with my network team and learned that
the stone buildings (at Curry) are already known areas
of opportunity for potential coverage improvement,
Murphy said. Details still need to be worked out
surrounding a potential new antenna, after which local
permits and zoning applications would have to be
drawn up. Curry`s oIfce oI Buildings and Grounds
did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Objects such as stones, trees and even leaves can
block a cellular signal, causing disruptions in service.
Cellular devices depend on line of sight, meaning
that a device must be able to see an antenna to have
good service, said Murphy. To that end, AT&T
antennas are simply in better positions around Curry
to provide more consistent service.
The iPhone 4 from AT&T and HTC Droid
Incredible from Verizon rank as the top two cell
phones, in terms of quality and performance,
according to product reviews on the technology
Web site cnet.com. Sprint Nextels HTC Evo 4G
and Samsung Epic 4G also boast high ratings.
However, the price tag on the two Sprint phones
can run as high as $500 to $600, whereas the
iPhone and Droid typically cost $200 to $300.
Finding their Voice
Currys Verizon customers calling for help, reception
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By Alexandra McGinnis
In the practice room of the Speaking
Center, a student is midway through
delivering an oral presentation. She sits
facing both a video camera and one of
the eight speech associates currently
employed.
The students primary focus for this
practice session is the overall fow of her
speech, which she delivers in a cautionary,
yet comfortable manner, casting occasional
glances at the red recording light of the
camera. The speech associate quietly
observes.
Clank!
Slightly rattled, the student soldiers on
with her speech.
Clank!
Each time the student articulates the
word 'like or 'umm in an unnecessary
or pointless manner, the associate drops a
marble into a metal bucket, creating a loud
and jarring noise that disrupts the speech but
leaves an impact. Its but one of the various
methods utilized to help Curry students
improve their public speaking abilities.
Although it`s widely used, not everyone
on campus is familiar with the service or
its origins.
One of only about 50 such centers in
the entire United States, Curry`s Speaking
Center-located on the top foor of the
Academic & Performance Center, in rooms
207 and 209is operated almost entirely
by students. Known as speech associates,
the student workers must apply and
interview for their positions under director
Vicki Nelson, a communication professor
who is also interim director
of student advising for the
college. Nelson established
the Center eight years ago.
She says it was created
because there wasn`t really
any other place on campus
for students to get help with
oral presentations.
All associates are
required to complete a
semester-long 3000-level
course, 'Peer Coaching
in Communication,
before getting to work in
the Center. The course is
usually comprised of only
two or three students, who
are required to diligently
improve their own presenting abilities,
learn about the history of oral presentation,
and, most importantly, cultivate the ability
to teach and critique the art of rhetoric.
Student associates are paid an hourly
wage of $8 per hour, with a one dollar
increase each year. Students can work
in the Speaking Center as early as their
sophomore years.
The fact that speech associates are
students themselves may be one of the
reasons the Center has been so successful.
'Students tend to be a lot more comfortable
working with a peer than a professor, says
junior Mike Griffn, a speech associate
who`s also a communication major with a
concentration in public relations. The other
speech associates this year are seniors
Donna Schlieper, Sofa Coon and Alicia
Werner, juniors Danielle Hausner, Josh
Nyer and Molly Vance, and sophomore
Chelsea Souza.
'As soon as someone walks in, I start
trying to establish a connection with them
by being friendly, making small talk and
relating to them, which makes them feel at
ease, says Griffn. 'The formal, slightly
awkward tension that might be there with a
professor is gone.
Affrmative methods of critique allow
for criticism to be constructive, amiable
and easily accepted. The most important
part of working as a speech associate is
maintaining an optimistic attitude, Griffn
adds. 'Everyone is their own worst critic..
Mentioning the positive points and aspects
of someone`s presentation frst allows them
to gain confdence and prevent them from
judging themselves too harshly, he says.
All students, regardless of their major,
can schedule a half-hour appointment
concerning a presentation of any sort and
for any class.
Speech associates will work
with students on all aspects of their
presentation, usually starting with the
students research, organization, thesis
and assorted points. Students will
ultimately deliver their speech for a video
recording, which enables them to see
areas in need of improvement.
'The useful hints about organization
are really helpful, says Colby Hoyle, 19,
a management major who uses the Center
about once a month. 'But getting myself
video-taped and being able to see my own
mistakes is defnitely the part that helps
me the most when I`m preparing for a
presentation.
Students tutor their peers in the art
of rhetoric at the Speaking Center