Students neglect manners when using their cell phones in public - Guest Column

We need to lay down some rules here. Cell phone usage has gone from a phenomenon exclusive to the rich to being so common that dorm room phones are nearly obsolete and friends' numbers are just an address book away.

Though cell phones now come with a heavy booklet of instructions explaining all the high-tech new features, there is still no handy guide to cell phone etiquette -- and one is sorely needed.

More than a fashion accessory, a cell phone has become a necessity, a way for the world to reach you whenever, wherever. Places previously sacred from the cell phone -- libraries, movie theatres and even bathrooms -- now echo with that annoying Nokia tune.

Either people have blatantly stopped caring for those around them, or they just don't know the rules of common cell phone decency.

So, with the inconsiderate in mind, here are some basic guidelines.

In public places, keep it low.

Riding public transportation with onion breath is a crime, but yelling into your phone about what you ate for breakfast is just as bad -- and guaranteed to annoy your fellow passengers just as much.

Loud jabbering on the phone, sometimes referred to as noise pollution, will get you evil glares and nasty comments.

"On a bus or train, it's really annoying to have to overhear what your mother did to you and what you're going to do back," said freshman Denae Sisco.

Try to avoid talking on the phone at all in places where people can't help but overhear your conversation, such as elevators or crowded subway trains. You may be the center of your own world, but others have more pressing concerns. Nobody really wants to listen to complaints about a bad grade on a test or overhear your argument with a friend.

This leads us to the next rule: discretion.

People seem to think that with the advent of reality TV, all privacy boundaries have melted away. Suddenly, it's okay to discuss every last detail of your relationship and your body No, actually, it's not.

Private conversations are meant to be private. For those still unclear, speaking quietly about your class while in line at the cafeteria is fine. Sharing the color of your underwear is not.

The next major category of cell phone rules deal with location. I used to think it was an obvious practice to turn off your cell phone before class, until a classmate not only answered a phone during a lecture, but then proceeded to have an entire conversation.

So I guess I have to actually say it: don't talk on the phone in class, during a movie, a performance, a meeting or on most levels of the library.

If a person asks you to turn off your phone, please turn it off. They are not trying to cramp your social life. Being in the library, at least at most schools, carries the assumption that you're there to do some studying.

And there are just some places that are awkward for a phone conversation.

"Once, I walked into the bathroom and I heard a guy in the second stall talking on a phone about specific problems on his chemistry homework," said freshman Jason Cuthbert. "And I was like, are you serious?"

Also, be mindful of your surroundings. This includes not only watching where you're going while driving or walking, but also being courteous to whomever you are with.

With that in mind, freshman Howie Que shared some helpful advice: "On a date, if your phone rings you should turn it off without looking. That's just, like, dating etiquette."

The world around you should have precedence over a phone conversation.

And while it seems like surviving without a cell phone is impossible, remember those cell phone-free when you were nine.

Every once in a while, it's okay -- just turn it off.