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Volume 38 Issue 6
November 21, 2000

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Cellphones causing static

MESA LEGEND
Submitted November 21, 2000

Cell phones, cell phones, cell phones. They are everywhere and everybody has them! But there is one place cell phones should not be: In the classroom.

Do you have to sign a waiver saying you will dismiss all your respect for people in exchange for a cell phone? It sure  seems that way around campus. People are constantly on their phones. When I am walking to class, I am surrounded by people on their cell phones saying, "What’s up dude, did you see the game last night?" When will the madness blow over, like every other trend?

Cell phones are not only invading the walkways on campus, they are invading the classrooms as well. I can’t go through a day of classes without hearing at least one phone belt out one of those annoying sing-along tunes. Some students even have the nerve to leave the room and answer the call, and some just answer it right in class.

Because some students are neglecting to turn off their phones before class begins (It is said that cell phones cause memory loss!), professors are forced to implement their own policies on cell phones.

Some profes-sors just warn the class about turning them off. Then there are the profes-sors who go to the extreme.

Some will answer the student’s phone in class and purposely embarrass them with a snide remark. I have one teacher that will make students buy the whole class lunch if their phone rings while he is lectur-ing.

Some of you may be say-ing, "A phone ringing in class, is it really a big deal?"

Yes.

When I am learning (or sleeping) in class, I don’t want a noisy ringing phone to disrupt me. Of course it’s a big deal.

When I am concentrating heavily on an exam, I don’t want a loud ring echoing in the classroom and startling me. Of course it’s a big deal.

What isn’t a big deal is to turn on your brain and turn off your cell phone before class. And if you cannot handle not knowing who is calling during class, then make the phone light up or vibrate (oohh!), instead of bursting out the chorus of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game".

So you decide — do you want to get nasty looks from the instructor or possibly have to buy 30 Big Macs for lunch? Then I would suggest that you respect your professor and fellow classmates, along with keeping your dignity and money, by turning off your cell phone!

Leah Tidwell is a columnist and a reporter for the Mesa Legend as well as a Journalism major at MCC.

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