should mobile phones be banned in colleges?

I think that banning them from college is acceptable. After all you go there to study not to communicate, right? You can communicate all you want at the end of the day. As for emergency situations you can use the school phone (if it's a real emergency of course)

Hi I read everyones comments on this discussion and I'd like to comment that I have my cell phone on, on campus every minute that I am there. I have two very young children and if their caretaker needs to get ahold of me they can. I have the phone on vibrate so the call will not distract from the class. If it vibrates then I look to see who is calling and if it is a friend or someone besides my kids and their caretakers then I a button so that the call goes right to my voicemail. On the first day of all of my classes I talk to my teachers about the situation and they are all understanding if I stand up and walk out of a class to answer my phone if actually necessary. I think responsible use of any device in class is ok, it is the people that are chatting about a party or shopping during a lecture that should be banned from their phones during class. I am sick of the few people who are idiots ruining something for the rest of us who have some common sense!

I am on campus a lot with my daughter and I have noticed that every 5th person it seems is on the phone. And it occurred to me that many of these young folks are away from home for the first time. Some don't have any nearby family or any real friendships and what might appear to be an obsession with the phone, may actually be a way to relieve stress or offer for some a feeling of security. For sure they should be banned in the classrooms and in certain areas of the university,also while driving. But other than that, I don't think they should be banned, it really is a lot cheaper to maintain a cell phone than trying to pay a monthly long distance phone bill...SS

I agree with you, mobile phones are very important nowadays as it is one way of speeding up the communication. But I must say that there has to be proper use of mobile phones in colleges. I guess it's just ok for the students of teachers to bring their phones inside school premises as they can check them during their breaks, but using them during class hours is another story..and it has to be a big "NO". I remember during my college days, we were allowed to bring our phones inside the school but we need to turn them off inside our classrooms. That was good enough.

I agree. A complete ban on cell phones in a college campus is not needed. Just restricting their usage in certain areas like class room will do.

i think it should not be banned.. we can use it for emergency.. All we need is to be responsible in using mobile phones.