Tired of trudging all the way to the campus center every time you make an ATM run? A new ATM in Dowling Hall, to be installed tentatively by Dec. 18, will soon make the trek for cash shorter for uphill residents.
The ATM will be affiliated with Citizen's Bank, the second largest bank in Boston, and will be part of the SUM network, a conglomerate of smaller banks. Students holding accounts at any of the participating banks can use the Citizens Bank ATM without paying extra fees.
"Any student that comes to Tufts, instead of choosing Fleet because it's convenient, can choose any small bank in the area and still use the ATM without a fee," said Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Vice-President Melissa Carson, who lobbied for the ATM. The University Credit Union is also on the SUM network, allowing faculty and staff to use the ATM without fees.
Although some students have pushed for an ATM to be installed in Olin, administrators say that Dowling Hall is an easier location to install the machine. Putting an ATM in Olin would require remodeling and could have taken years to accommodate. Dowling Hall, on the other hand, already had the capacity for an ATM and is a popular location on campus. "Sometimes you have to work with what you have," Carson said.
The ATM will be contained in two rooms - an open room where students can access the machine and a closet directly behind it. The closet will house the money and allow for tighter security during money delivery. Cameras will be placed inside the ATM.
An alarm system in the ATM can contact Citizens Bank if anything goes functionally awry. Its 24-hour alarm notifies the bank, which would then send a repairman.
Carson, a Citizens Bank representative, and Dean of Academic Services & Student Affairs Kristine Dillon negotiated for the installation. Carson said the administration and John Dowling, the building's namesake, were of the project.
But some students said the Dowling location might prove inconvenient. "At least the campus center is on the way to places I'm going," freshman Meredith Mu?±oz said. Although she lives uphill, she finds herself in the Campus Center more often than Dowling Hall.
"It's useful for teachers...I don't see how it will be exceedingly useful for students," she said.
