Students Talk On Cell Phones All Night Long
by: Daniel Riehs
BOSTON—Telephone conversations could be heard well past 3 a.m. Friday from the dorm room of Boston University sophomores Trent Stevenson and Lionel Dawson, sources reported.
"I got there around midnight," said fellow student Elizabeth Myers. "As soon as I walked in the door, Lionel handed me a cell phone, so I immediately called my friend Suzy from home. Gosh, I was so focused on the conversation that I had no idea what was going on around me."
Stevenson and Dawson shared their recollections of the evening's activities at a recent press conference.
"I tried walking over to my desk while I was entering a number into the phone," Stevenson told reporters. "I think I tripped over my school bag or something. I didn't get hurt, but I was so anxious about the phone call that I was making, I wouldn't have felt anything anyway."
Added Stevenson, "I mean, it's really pretty crazy if you think about it. I had to take my eyes off my feet for at least four seconds to dial the phone. I could have ended up over in the corner behind the bed before I even realized what was going on."
While university administrators allow students to have cellular phones in there dorm rooms, Dan Goldin, the university's President, stressed that no student should have more than one phone, and it should be kept strictly for personal use.
"It is not appropriate for a group of students to sit in a dorm room and hold separate conversations on different cell phones," said Goldin. "This type of party atmosphere is dangerous, not just to individuals who potentially face brain cancer, but also to members of the general public who might come into contact with these telephone users."
Goldin then continued, "If a student is thoroughly immersed in a conversation, he may—for example—inadvertently enter an elevator before the existing passengers have a chance to exit."
Experts hypothesize that Goldin was referring to a January 2001 incident at the University of North Carolina when a collision caused by such a faux pas resulted in the deaths of seventeen students.
"All I know," added Stevenson at the conclusion of his press conference, "is that we threw one crazy party Friday night. I mean, I started my conversation at about 9:00, and by 9:10 I was totally engrossed."
Stevenson then succumbed to alcohol poisoning and died.
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