'It's for you'

Professors, classmates fail to see humor in others' busy social lives

There you are in class, listening attentively while scribbling down volumes of notes when it happens — one of the most painful moments of in-class embarrassment — your cell phone goes off. The entire classroom is silent while your professor is mid-lecture, when all of a sudden the polyphonic version of Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back" starts blaring from your backpack. Amid the mortification of the class knowing you actually chose to have your phone set to a rendition of the 1992 Billboard Chart topper, you still have to dig through your belongings in order to shut the thing off.

We've all seen it happen — the flustered student frantically searching through binders and textbooks to silence the ringing. Then there is the question of what to say or do after you've found and silenced your phone. Do you say sorry? Do you hide your head in shame and hope that no one heard?

"I felt horrible when my cell phone went off in my [math] class," junior Melanie Rudolph said. "I said sorry right away, but, luckily, my professor was really laid-back about it."

Since cell phones are so common among college students, some professors address the topic of cell phones within the first few days of their class. There are many professors who have a zero-tolerance policy for cell phone disruption during class. Consequences ranging from the professor actually answering your phone, or deducting points off attendance or test scores are all a result of cell phone disruption.

"The [teacher's assistant] in my Health 100 class threatened to answer our cell phones and embarrass us to whomever was on the other line, but tons of phones went off and he never did anything about it," sophomore Ammar Shallal said.

This doesn't go to say that no professor actually will answer your phone. For sophomore Erin Larkin, her professor not only answered her phone, but also carried on a brief conversation with the person on the other line.

"My professor actually answered my phone when it went off in class. I had forgotten to put it on silent, and I mean, what can you do when your professor tells you she wants to answer your phone?" Larkin said.

When merely answering cell phones isn't enough to deter students from bringing their mobile devices to class, more severe measures may be taken to prevent further interruption.

Math professor Stephanie Berry has become so fed up with cell phone disruption in her classroom that she has enforced a penalty for students whose phones interrupt her lectures.

"I will deduct points off of a [student's] test scores if their cellular phone interrupts my lectures," Berry said. "I have had so many problems of interruption in the past that I have found this is the only way to motivate the students to either leave their cell phones at home, or at least put them on silent."

For those students who have been caught in the act of having their phones disrupt class, one commonality has been drawn — they won't let it happen again.

"My cell phone went off [in class] for the first time a few days ago, and I believe my professor handled it the best way you can — he stopped the class, put the entire focus on me and the fact that I interrupted his lecture, and it made me feel miserable," Shallal said. "I can guarantee from now on my phone will never ring in another class."