The National Do-Not-Call Registry went into effect Wednesday, but the Ball State phonathon will continue to call.
"The Do-Not-Call Bill will not affect the (Ball State) phonathon because we are higher education," said Lola Mauer, assistant director of annual giving and phonathon. "If the Do-Not-Call bill affects higher education, universities and colleges across the country will suffer a cut back from alumni support."
About 50 million people have already registered their phone numbers on the National Do-Not-Call Registry, according to the Federal Trade Commission's Web site.
Most telemarketers cannot call the registered numbers, but the list does not stop calls from non-profit organizations.
Ball State University uses telemarketing to call alumni and friends of the university every year.
Mauer said the phonathon raised over $1.1 million last year.
Mauer said the money that the phonathon raised from telemarketing supports library books, computer equipment, classroom equipment and scholarship.
"Without the phonathon, tuition would likely be increased," Mauer said.
The phonathon employs 40 student callers who speak with more than 80,000 alumni a year.
Mauer said the phonathon does not make random phone calls.
Ball State has a nice relationship with alumni, and they expect phone calls from Ball State, said Mauer.
Junior Latasha Williams used to work for the phonathon.
Williams said that, while the majority of people she called were pleasant, not everyone was.
Williams said she once accidentally called a woman who had already been called.
"She yelled, 'I told you not to call again!' and was screaming obscenities in my ear," Williams said. "That job isn't as easy as everyone thinks it is, and they put up with a lot of stuff for this university."
Graduate student Katie Blackburn said her only good experience with a telemarketer was with a university conducting a survey.
Blackburn said other calls were really annoying because the solicitors were pushy.
"It (telemarketing) adds another element of stress," Blackburn said.
People like Blackburn have supported the bill, but its popularity might not be enough to keep it alive.
According to Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. District Court in Denver ruled on Sept. 25 that the national Do-Not-Call registry provisions violate the First Amendment.
If the case appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and it agreed with the district court, then the bill would be struck down.
Erdogan Kumcu, marketing and management professor, said the list has to do more with business practice than free speech.
Blackburn said he supports the Do-Not-Call bill.
"After I register the phone with the Do-Not-Call bill, it's quiet at home," Blackburn said. "You get to make the choice, and that is what this society is all about."
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