Sometimes it's a Nelly tone, and others it's a classic melody. Either way, it's an annoyance that ASMSU might look to change.
At its Academic Assembly meeting Tuesday, MSU's undergraduate student government briefly discussed cell-phone use in the classroom and might draft a bill to address those students who let their phones ring.
"It's like when you listen to a CD and it skips - it's an awkward moment in class and ruins the flow," said Kyle Martin, a representative for the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. "The worst case is when you're taking a test and it changes your mindset."
Martin started the discussion about cell phones in last week's meeting and said professors need to be encouraged to better regulate cell phone use in their classrooms.
He said he hopes to have a bill ready for ASMSU's Policy Committee in two weeks and a vote on it in the general assembly the following week.
ASMSU passed a similar measure last January when it drafted a bill to urge university officials to ban cell-phone use in the Main Library. The bill suggested to confine use to stairwells, bathrooms and entryways. The library currently limits cell phone use to these areas by posting signs in study areas.
Gary Hoppenstand, professor of Writing, Rhetoric and American Culture, said cell-phone disruptions have decreased in his classroom in the past two years. Now they usually only happen because students forget to turn their phones off, he said.
"In some classrooms it's gotten to the point in recent years where I've almost had to have set conditions in the course syllabus to make sure students turn off cell phones," he said. "If happens two or three times it's not only disruptive for the instructor, but also to students."
Hoppenstand said instant messaging with cell phones is now a bigger problem than students talking on them.
"It's extremely rude to the instructor, but also can become distracting around the student," he said.
But not all students agree that cell phones are a big distraction in classes.
"They go off a lot, but people in the classroom don't lose focus," said Shannon Murphy, a psychology freshman. "It would take more time to punish someone and take their name instead of just ignoring it."
Zach Duvall, a psychology junior, said in his larger classes cell phones can be a problem.
"In 500-person lectures, cell phones are always going off," he said. "But, for the most part, in most classes it's not a big problem."
