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College Students Turn Away From Landlines

prostoalex writes "You're as likely to find a landline in a college dorm as you're an old typewriter, according to this Washington Post article on MSNBC. While roughly 30% of college students had a cell phone 5 years ago, more than 90% have them today, resulting in student directories including out-of-state numbers instead of 4-digit extensions. More trivia on college students: 90% own a PC, 65% have broadband, 62% own a stereo system, 74% have a DVD player, 55% have a gaming system. What the Washington Post article also hints at, is possible tuition hikes due to the landlines dropped so quickly. "Six or seven years ago, telephones on campus were a cash cow," said Glenn Gaslin of Morrisville State College in New York."

9 of 383 comments (clear)

  1. Jesus Christ! The article headline should be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    "College Dorms Extremely Lucrative to Burglarize"

    It's like Best Buy with beds and showers!

  2. Re:That's great and all ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Thats nothing. I was once at a play where a mans cellphone went off, and the actors stopped the play while it was going on to politely and emphatically ask the man to answer the call. He did, and as he did so, I saw plenty of other people reaching to turn theirs off. I sure did..

  3. Oh, landLINES. by What'sInAName · · Score: 3, Funny

    Glanced the headline briefly, and thought that university administrator were getting desperate for methods to keep college students on campus.

  4. Re:90%? by mshawatmit · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thats interesting. I have not met one person here (MIT) who does not own at least two PCs. I've also not met anyone here who runs Windows.

  5. Re:That's great and all ... by Carmody · · Score: 4, Funny

    I always want to take the phone and answer it - "This is so-and-so's professor. He is in class now."

    The reason I don't do it is because I'm afraid of "This is his dad. His *weep* his mother just *weep* passed away and we need him to *weep* come now to identify the... the... *bawwwwwwwwwwwl*"

    --
    God is real unless declared integer
  6. Re:That's great and all ... by Ayrehtek · · Score: 3, Funny
    One of my professors would make the student give him the cellphone, and he would take the call for the student! It was hilarious to listen to some of the conversations.

    " Hello? ... No, this is his/her professor. He/she is in my class right now. ... Ok. I'll let him/her know to pick it up from the store on the way back. ... Bye."

    Hilarity ensures...
  7. Re:That's great and all ... by omega_cubed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh, one of my professors does it much differently...

    Prof: ... and the superlocrian scale here
    ---BRRRRRRIIING---
    [Amanda looks up all embarassed]
    [Prof walks over to Amanda, picks up the cell phone from next to her handbag.]
    Prof: Yo.
    Phone: ...
    Prof: What you want?
    Phone: ...
    Prof: Yeah! This is Horatio. What you want with my woman?
    [the other end hangs up]

    It never fails to amuse... (funny how some students just don't learn).

    --
    Engineers also speak PDE, only in a different dialect.
  8. Re:That's great and all ... by operagost · · Score: 3, Funny

    Dad doesn't know what Mom looks like? And he's a weeping sissy?

    --

    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  9. Re:That's great and all ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Its mine phone

    Why do I have the feeling you'll never set foot in a college classroom? You won't have to worry.