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Classroom cell phones disruptive

It is becoming more common to hear Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" during class than at a concert.

Students' concentration is sometimes broken by the digital sounds of famous tunes coming from cell phones, while blushing students try desperately to turn them off.

That awkward feeling is one freshman Tahzeeb Gillani knows.

"It went off in the computer pod once," she said. "It was kind of embarrassing because I didn't know it was on."

Gillani said she only carries her cell phone for talking to her mom or for emergencies.

"I don't use it at school because I'm busy concentrating on schoolwork," she said.

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In most of her classes, she said teachers request that students turn off their cell phones. But in others, she said professors leave theirs on and give students the same option.

"I don't mind as long as we are allowed to do the same," Gillani said.

Dean of Students Randy Boeglin said UNM has no specific policy regarding cell phone presence in classrooms.

"It's left up to the individual instructor," Boeglin said.

Graduate student instructor Kevin Bennett has an interesting policy when a student's cell phone goes off in his social psychology class.

"If the phone rings, I don't ignore it - I stop class," Bennett said. "The person whose phone went off must announce to the class what their adult porn name is."

The name consists of the student's middle name and the name of the street they lived on when they were younger.

"It's not to embarrass them," Bennett said. "It's just motivation for people to turn off their phones."

Since he implemented the policy this semester, he said incidents of phones going off in class have gone down.

He said he came up with the policy after students annoyed with cell phone distractions came to him with the issue.

"It's more for students," Bennett said, "I can handle it, but for them it breaks the concentration."

Before exams, he reminds students to turn off their cell phones because he said it is during tests when students are the most stressed out.

UNM senior Christopher Day said most of his teachers request that students turn off their phones, but he doesn't have a class where the professor has a strict policy.

Day said he turns off his cell phone out of respect for the teacher and other students.

"It's proper phone etiquette," Day said. "There are a lot of people without proper phone etiquette, and they are annoying and disruptive."

Although students may have a problem with cell phones disrupting class, Bennett said he understands.

"Cell phones are part of modern society," Bennett said.

He said he too has been in situations where he wished he had turned it off.

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