They are everywhere: in hands, on ears, in bags, in purses, in class, in rooms, on hips. There is no escaping cell phone usage here on campus. Whether they are for an emergency or to make a statement, students are carrying them in droves.
Larry Houk, a chemistry professor who has been at The University of Memphis for 34 years, said that he has seen cell phone use increase dramatically on campus in the last few years.
Some teachers have had little or no problem with cell phone usage while others find it annoying.
Houk said even though more students are carrying them, they are doing pretty well turning them off themselves without him having to caution them.
“I very rarely hear them go off,” Houk said.
Carl Halford, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, has put cell phone disruption into perspective.
“They are not anymore disruptive than a student coming in late,” Halford said.
Holly Lou, an associate professor in The Department of Theatre & Dance, finds cell phone usage in class irritating, but she is not terribly bothered by it.
“Students are really embarrassed if it goes off in class, especially if they are standing in the middle of the floor and the phone goes off against the wall,” Lou said.
Lou said she normally only warns against cell phones before performances but not in class.
Senior Ashly Bew carries a cell phone, but she rarely takes it to class. If she does take it to class, she always turns it off because she does not trust the silencer.
“It’s embarrassing for it to go off in class, and it is very frustrating when others use it,” Bew said.
Freshman Chris Harris thinks that cell phones should be turned off in class.
“It’s annoying and disrespectful to teachers,” Harris said.
Freshman Dusty Warren is happy he can have his cell phone with him because in high school, he was not allowed to carry a cell phone.
“There might be an important call, and if you’re paying for it, you might as well carry it,” Warren said.
Warren has seen his teachers get mad over cell phones ringing in class. He said they are trying to do their job and it is difficult if the phone keeps ringing.
Freshman James McKinnie said it does not bother him if a person uses a phone in class because it might be important.
“Mine rings all the time in class, but it is on silence,” McKinnie said.
McKinnie says his professors ask that they turn their phones off before class because they are distracting.
U of M student Jessica Carson finds that phones ringing in class is very disturbing.
“It is annoying when people use the phone in class,” Carson said. “It would be okay if they went outside the room to talk.”
Freshman Wayne Armstead summed up his belief on cell phone usage.
“There is a time and a place for everything, but class is not the place to talk on the phone.”
