The Battalion
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Students keep connected through several state-of-the-art means
BY STEPHEN WELLS
The Battalion
eing a student means being a human filing cabinet, paper-writ
ing drone and Animal House character all at once. More often
than not, students find themselves ensnared in a web of assign-
jments, friends and the occasional call to Mom to warn her of the dirty
laundry on its way to her mailbox. Keeping it all together requires the
correct attitude and the proper tools.
Digital communication, once a device used by general contractors
nd Wall Street moguls to stay in touch, is now helping college students
tay connected.
One of the digital devices students are becoming more familiar with
each semester is e-mail.
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Richard Lorbieski, the senior network administrator for Alpha 1 In
ternet Service Providers, said e-mail is a good substitute for more tradi
tional means of communication.
“With e-mail, you have a method of communication that is just as re
liable as a telephone, plus you have a record of the message,” Lorbieski
said. “Your messages are printable and easier to store for future refer
ence. If you want to contact multiple people, using e-mail is easier and
takes much less time than using a telephone or writing several letters and
sending them all out. ”
E-mail also lends itself to sending casual messages between students.
Sarah Moore, a senior speech communication major, said e-mail can help
students keep in touch when they spend the weekdays buried in course
work.
“I get jokes all the time over my e-mail so I check it when I need to re
lax,” Moore said. “It helps pass the time when I’m taking a study break,
and checking my e-mail lets me think I’m doing something productive
when I’m really just killing time.
“My friends and I have a kind of chain letter thing going so when one
of us gets something cool we all get to see it.”
E-mail has some disadvantages. Careless typists should double check
the address on their e-mail before sending anything out.
“If you put the wrong zip code on a piece of mail, at least the Post
Office will put the letter in a dead-letter box or send it back to you and
tell you there was a mistake,” Lorbieski said. “E-mail is not as forgiv
ing as that. Either the mail will keep telling you the message cannot be
sent or it will go off to Never never Land.”
Since students cannot just lug around a computer wherever they go,
some have turned to cellular phones as another way to stay in contact
with a fast-paced world.
Charles Culver, the owner of Skyline Communications, said a cel
lular phone gives a student flexibility few other forms of communica
tions have.
“People buy cellular phones for security and convenience,” Culver
said. “Prices have dropped significantly, especially for digital phones.
People can say they cost a lot, but the one time you need a cellular phone
and have it ready, it’s worth the expense.
“Cellular phones have become so commonplace that some stu
dents on the go all the time may as well shut off the phone in their
apartment.”
The downside of a cellular phone is the extreme availability of the
owner to people determined to occupy their time.
“I see people go to a restaurant and have their phone on the table
beside them while they eat,” Culver said. “For me, that’s my sanctu
ary. If there’s somewhere I don’t want to be called, it’s at a restaurant
while I’m eating.”
Students should be aware of salespeople trying to sell them a digital
phone, which is more expensive than an analog phone but offers the
same service.
Students should educate themselves about the pros and cons of each
type of phone before making a purchase.
“One popular misconception is the perception of digital and analog
phones,” Culver said. “It’s almost become a marketing ploy by people
trying to sell digital phones. They try to tell you that analog is obso
lete, but listen to an FM station on your car radio or the stereo in your
house and the sound quality is just fine.
see Communication on Page 6.
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