Everybody likes that “flava” in their ear; a large population of NIU students have hopped on the mp3 player bandwagon.

It’s not surprising, seeing as how portable music is now one step easier to carry around. Cassettes are ancient history and CDs are quickly going out of style, simply because they are just too bulky by comparison.

Any serious music enthusiast knows this is true; a true fan has shelf space in his or her place dedicated to the vast amount of music collected over time.

Now that the mp3 revolution is here, it is more likely a true fan will be measured not by the size of his or her shelf space, but by the size of his or her hard drive.

Nanos, minis, and other lesser-known makes and models have proliferated in the past year among our generation, and although sociological studies on the subject are scant, a quick glance over campus verifies this fact as true.

Over at the bus stop, the crosswalks, in the Barsema cafe area, hundreds if not thousands of NIU students can be seen with wires leading from their earphones to a little box, as they stand still.

Of course, an interesting problem has presented itself: Why are they standing still?

In the old days, long before the advent of Walkmans and iPods, music enthusiasts would dream of the possibility of taking their favorite songs with them everywhere they went. Some of these people would dance at the mere suggestion.

Have we forgotten the plight of our predecessors? They were behind the technological revolution, fighting hard for the day when you could pop your adapter cable into a USB port and drag and drop the entire discography of the Black Eyed Peas in one quick minute.

Mp3 listeners, the time is now to show our pride, our patriotism, for the men and women who have paved the path before us. If you’re not dancing on their side, your standing against them.

You possess the power to create your own unique visual soundscape, and carry it in your pocket. It’s with you in the best of times and the worst of times, through sickness and health, thick and thin. That’s a wonderful privilege.

If you have an mp3 player in your ear, please, today, bust a groove. If not for yourself, do it for the memory of those who came before you.