To the Editor,

Simmons really needs to do a better job of alerting students to the fact that they can, and very likely will, be called to jury duty during their time as a student here.

I always assumed, obviously incorrectly, that you could only get called to jury duty from the address to which you were registered to vote, but that is untrue. In Massachusetts, all students who live on their college campuses are eligible to be called to jury duty. Which means that, whether you’re from in or out of state, there could be a jury duty summons sitting in your campus mailbox right now.

Many students don’t make a habit of checking for mail regularly. I know people who can go months between even thinking about opening their mailbox, because unless you’re expecting something, why would you?

I’ve talked to several people who didn’t know that getting jury duty from your college address was even a possibility. Missing jury duty is a big deal; not showing up for your assigned date can result in a fine of up to $2000.

If I had been warned at some point that I could receive a summons here, I definitely would have been more diligent about checking my mail. I never gave out my address to anyone, so thinking about my checking my mailbox was always the last thing from my mind—if no one had the address, how could I be getting mail?

Now, obviously it’s not Simmons’ fault if students aren’t checking for mail and miss their summons date, but it has happened—or almost happened—to enough people that it’s clear there is a large portion of Simmons students who aren’t aware of the potential summons that could be sitting in their mailboxes.

It is in the best interest for the community if the college steps in and takes measures to raise awareness on this issue. I’m not asking for a lot, but a simple e-mail reminder at the start of every semester, or a few minutes taken out of the first-year classes to inform students would go a long way.

I know this seems a little trivial to write about, but there’s such a simple solution to a problem that many students have faced that it’s silly to let it go on any longer.

And fellow students, if you’re reading this and you don’t check your mailbox regularly—like me—you might want to take a peek in there next time you’re on the res-campus, just in case.

Sincerely,

Jessie Kuenzel