Editor, Daily Nexus:

I would like to correct some misinformation printed in the Daily Nexus on Tuesday, Nov. 27, and Wednesday, Nov. 28, concerning the A.S. Student Directory.

The A.S. Student Directory did not require $32,000 from student fees. Associated Students contracts with an outside company to sell yellow page advertising and print a student phone directory. As part of the contract, A.S. arranges for the student, faculty, staff and departmental listings to be provided to the company and the company provides the finished product at no cost to the students.

I also want to clarify the source of the information that appears in the A.S. Student Directory. Student information is obtained from the Information Systems Office and is compiled from each student’s contact information in GOLD. If your information isn’t listed correctly or isn’t included, you need to update your personal information in GOLD. This information is provided to A.S. in a data file and is sent electronically to the publishing company. Department listings come from Communications Services and are provided electronically in a formatted MS Word program that we resize and send to the publishing company.

Although Communications Services also provides faculty and staff listings, these listings are transferred as a data file that is sent to an outside company (hired by the publisher) for conversion to a directory-listing format. Though we have had a spotless history in our relationship with Communications Services, this year there was an error in the data program. Communications Services has apologized for this mistake and we are moving forward in trying to solve the problem.

I am not absolving A.S. of responsibility for the misprints in the directory. We have, perhaps, become too complacent after years of error-free collaboration with our campus service providers. You can be assured that we will work with our publisher to make sure that not only is editing time built into the printing schedule, but that editing the information provided by the University is a priority for its staff prior to going to print.

This continues to be a learning experience for all parties involved in the directory publication process. We have offered Professor Abbot our sincere apology and will work with him to address any on-going disruption that this may cause to his office. We are extremely grateful that he expressed understanding of the human error and has worked with us to appropriately respond to the situation. We are hoping to provide the amended A.S. Student Directories during the first week of Winter Quarter. Any additional questions about the process or availability of the directories can be addressed to the A.S. Main Office at 893-2566 or to me at 893-3536.

MARILYN DUKES