Here at the Emerald, we have a 90-year history of archives that we can examine for the sake of institutional knowledge and historical framing. Here’s a glimpse of that Emerald history with a weekly feature, giving you a look into what was happening this day in the past.
We’ll be trying to find stories and headlines inherently relevant to situations that persist today, as well as the occasional oddity we find in our past.
April 18, 2002
Cell users: Politely turn off the ringer
Guest Commentator Sara Hoskinson
In the last week, a cellular phone has rung in almost every class I have attended. Rather than chastising students for this intrusion, most of my professors simply cringe their way through the ringing, grateful when they can go on with their instruction.
…
I, for one, would never be caught dead carrying a cell because I’m one of a dying class of people who doesn’t want to be reached at all times. But no one needs to be reached in the middle of class, nor should any serious student want to be.
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Yes, that’s right. On this day in 2002, the Emerald ran a guest commentary which delved into the social delinquency of students who carried cell phones … everywhere they went! Obviously, there have been some changes in the University’s treatment of cell phones, and obviously, the writer was correct in that a phone going off during class is a real pain. But the level of change that went from “I, for one, would never be caught dead carrying a cell” to cell phone use today — 10 years later — is truly amazing. For example, we could imagine ourselves saying something similar today, but the opposite.
We would never be caught dead not carrying a cell … as unfortunate as the implications of that may be.
This day in University history: April 18, 2002
Editorial Board
April 16, 2012
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