Callers have potty mouths

In follow up to the recent article on cell phone use in the classroom, I feel compelled to continue this train of thought to the restrooms on campus.

Like everyone, I go the restroom to relieve myself, not to have someone in Siberia hear me go tinkle. Is it truly necessary that we carry on trivial conversations with our friends or children when it violates the privacy of others?

In my University 101 classes I tell my students the first day of class that unless they are on an organ donor list or heart surgeons on call – they need to turn their phones off for 50 minutes. “Your friends will survive without you,” I say to them.

I realize we are all connected on a level we had never imagined, but to go to the bathroom in the middle of the day and not know whether you should flush because the person on the other side of you is having a phone conversation has taken us to a ridiculous level. If you are on the phone, finish the conversation in the hall before entering the restroom, or, if you need to go that badly, finish the conversation by telling the other person you need to go, will right back. You may not have a problem with your friends hearing you go potty, but I do. Get a clue already!

Anita Zike Adkins Student Support Services