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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2001)
uiea from i ml resident who they i- ; ii w hat chan: Fuesday, September 18, 200 i\ tell you of money ... you have t that is true id. "Make s. ou're talking said identi: ■ve a difikii cess. H0Wf.; itors should s lat are longer hort on dey harity will» cific need' also warn: to give a. IV number' U. IS. .•r\ ice, and::. .*ral s office. md state ii: eir cars tt rauduient c*. j be raising- ittack relier.- ie. legitimfc d\ to help-- our supper aev Gene'_ ^tatemem 3\v e\ er. Aet ain unscr.:. ill comefor>. ut pouring e nation. Di ii i s have or entisdve' • tin.* midsi suftenng yc rson & i icy in Br. d validate edible rele s doubt, a*, id money r ne invest:: he said, writing ss, she well-low. he Amer • dlv a sah Hello! CO is Many think cell phone use is rude and should be controlled By Meredith Henslee THE BATTALION ■ For some, cell phones are a symbol of status, for some a necessity and for oth ers. a way of life. According to ABC News, there are presently 100 million cell phone users in the United States, and that number increases by about 46,000 daily. With so many cell phbnes, there is bound to be an abun dance on campus, and by extension, in I the classroom. Of those in the classroom, the likelihood of one ringing during class seems almost inevitable. ■ “The first thing people do when a phone rings is turn around to see whoev er! is holding it — that’s distracting to students ami professors,” said R^un Collier, a junior joiimalism major. ■ This issue is a problem when stu dents do not consider how their cell phone use | GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION will affect others around them. Jenny Fatheree, a junior marketing major, understands well the frustra tion that stems from students’ seeming need to be available at all times by cell phone. ‘‘I was in a huge lecture class, and all of a sudden I heard this chattering noise down the row,” Fatheree said. “Finally I looked over and a girl was digging through her backpack trying to find her cell phone. When she got it out, she realized that she had left it on. It had speed dialed some one, and he was yelling for her to hang up her phone so loudly that we could all hear it from the bottom of her bag.” This is not an isolated incident and is demonstrated by new policies devel oped by professors to deal with the incessant ringing. Keith Swim, a professor of business law and journalism, has adopted a policy of answering phones that ring during his lec tures. Swim tells his students about the rule and said most students willingly com ply and leave their phones turned off dur ing his lectures. Out of classes with hun dreds of students, he said three or four phones ring every week. Swim is not the only professor with a no-tolerance policy. Leslie Smuland, a junior elementary education major, had a professor last semester with a different, yet just as effec tive policy. “Her (the professor’s) policy was to stop lecture, stare down the person and say, ‘Get it and get out.’ And she wasn’t kid ding. The student really did have to leave the room. But 1 understand her frustration — it was distracting to me, too.” Etiquette experts across the country have started dealing with this issue. Especially in the business world, proper behavior within the realm of cell phone use is becoming increasingly important. Letitia Baldridge, a professional eti quette expert, from said it comes down to common courtesy and taking other people into account. “What we have to do is become more aware of other people,” she said. “That’s very hard in this electronic, computer age because we are pushing buttons and look ing at machines all the time.” Phones should be completely turned off at theaters, meetings, classrooms, churches and most restaurants. Business etiquette trainer Dian Orejada from said leaving phones on in these and other places and taking calls in these situations indicates that you hold little regard for other peo ple’s presence. Yet it is not as if students or profes sors want cell phones to be banned from campus. As Reagan O’Reilly, a senior marketing major, said, “I don’t mind people having them in class if they’re turned off, or if between classes people are talking or checking their messages.” Students can avoid getting glaring stares from professors and classmates by using common courtesy when using cell phones. mmmy VMu jyi l €@NYROL Gravitational Forces Robert Earl Keen Lost Highway Records Fans will recognize the name but not the music of this album, Keen’s latest in three years. Gravitational Forces' 12 tracks continue Keen’s mellowing trend towards more adult, or civil, themes, as his newest Texas tales mourn only two murders and there is no mention of the Christmas season. It seems the madman that lives inside his soul has been sedated. Or perhaps the Texas A&M University graduate’s musical constructions are calculated. “My Home Ain’t In The Hall Of Fame,” though not written by Keen, fits him exceptionally well. Keen will probably never win a Grammy or be enshrined by any hall of fame, but for a fan, who cares? For those who gave 1998’s Walking Distance a listen, the mood of Forces will be more familiar, though the aim of each is widely different. Walking Distance was somewhat of a southwestern opera with woven themes and defined movements, while Gravitational Forces revels in Keen’s ability to relate a variety of stories to an audience. Three fcover songs, one each by Townes Ifan Zandt, Johliny Cash and Tefrv Allan, grourb Keen's sometimes thick and intricate lyrics. These are gravity for the album. The title track is the most out- of-this-world; whoever allowed the inclusion of this spoken poem set to music has some explaining to do. All of Keen’s usual bandmates play on the album, and the addi tion of different instruments fla vors the album well. The use of harmonica, slide guitar and the occasional lamentations of an organ twist the group’s more western than country sound into intricate and subtle confessions of life. On first inspection, the album seems incoherent, but further lis tening proves otherwise — a. meticulously planned and execut ed collection of songs. The surprise inclusion of an old Keen favorite leaves listeners con templating the purpose of its pres ence on the disc rather than singing the anthem’s refrain. “The Road Goes On Forever" has been reworked and rewired with distort ed rock guitar, sounding like the live version previously recorded for Keen’s Live Dinner No. 2. The new question is, “What was wrong with the original recording?" This is a good CD for patient lis teners who already know Keen’s previous efforts. Fair-weather fans should prepare themselves to wade through the tracks that fol low "Walking Cane” — the album’s best. (Grade: B) — Thomas Phillips >eis > IVi) r Fitnfss k not give tiR i try witfi a * help you win ? ,hape. O/l m* 52 ABBA ,101 or cer Editor lies Editor s Editor laster Tiday during ttie' ter session (erf als Postage Pa«i ■ attalion, Texas TALENT IS ESSENTIAL # / WORLD WIDE PC SHIPMENTS # / WORLD WIDE DESK TOP SHIPMENTS # 1 WORLD WIDE NOTEBOOK SHIPMENTS # / US SERVER SHIPMENTS DELL IT WILL BE ON CAMPUS! CS/MIS Career Fair Tuesday 9/1 8 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Reed Arena DELL Information Night Monday 10/8 7:00-9:00 p,m. at the Hilton Hotel 801 University Drive East On-Campus Interviews Tuesday 10/9 Starting at 8:00 a.m., at the Career Services Office iiM University in'- offices are in W 45-2647; E-n»- ndorsement by A 696. For classify and office hours'- student to pick' il subscriptions >■ summer or $1H : 345-2611. December & May CS & MIS graduates go to WWW.TAMU.EDU/Academlc and Career Services to submit your resume and review Dell IT postings.