They are invading the campus and going off everywhere. In class, on the bus and in the halls. There is no escaping them.

Cellular phones. Their rings are distinctive, obnoxious and always heard somewhere on campus. Aren’t college students known for never having any money? Somehow they can afford the expenditure of a cell phone.

In a random survey of 50 NIU students, 39 students admitted to owning a cell phone, while 11 students have yet to purchase the mobile wonder.

Market saturation

Once regarded as a perk only for rich businessmen, now kids as young as 9-years-old are dependent on their cell phones. Currently, there are 137 million subscribers in the country, according to wirednews.com, with the market near the saturation point.

Born in 1984, the cell phone was bulky and outrageously expensive. Today, by researching the right company, a customer can score a free phone and a service as low as $20 a month. Some phones can fit in the palm of a hand, while others have access to the Internet.

Jen Albert, a junior elementary education major, said wherever she goes, her phone goes along.

“There’s no way I could live without my phone,” she said. “It’s a part of me. I feel naked without it.”

Albert uses a cell phone as her primary phone, with benefits of free long distance to call home to parents and friends.

“The only time that I use my apartment phone is if one of my roommates is online or I’m calling in DeKalb,” Albert said.

Eric Hollister, a sophomore art illustration major, agreed.

“It would be a lot harder to get ahold of me or get ahold of other people considering this is my primary phone and my only way to communicate,” Hollister said.

In the survey of NIU students, 10 had AT&T, six had Verizon, 12 went with Sprint, 14 had Nextel and five had another type.

Service issues

According to newsfactor.com, customers tend to change their cell phone providers for two different reasons, either for price or quality of service.

Receiving good service is especially something to consider when having a cell phone in DeKalb. Many students have bought their phones and service at home, so their quality of service may not be as good at school compared to home.

“My service is excellent out here,” Albert said. Hollister has great service as well, but admits that sometimes it isn’t as good in his house as on campus.

In-class calls

What is a teacher’s response to hearing that ring go off in the middle of lecture?

NIU English professor Deborah De Rosa hates it.

“If one does ring in my class, I tell them to turn it off and I usually give them a dirty look,” De Rosa said.

Junior English major Courtney Lewis said she always has her phone on vibrate, which saves any embarrassment if someone calls during class.

“My mom always seems to forget my schedule, so she calls during class time,” Lewis said. “I always have it on vibrate.”

De Rosa doesn’t have a phone herself because she thinks they are too expensive. Several years ago she purchased one, but returned it.

“I had my uncle come in from Italy, where everyone has a cell phone,” De Rosa said. “He didn’t understand why I didn’t have one, so we went to Best Buy to get one. In Italy, they have these cards where you place like $100, and that’s all you pay. It is really affordable, so everyone, even little kids, has a cell phone. Because in America it isn’t that cheap, we returned it.”

Many customers’ primary reason for buying a cell phone is for safety, especially on the road.

“I got stuck in a ditch last winter during a real bad blizzard,” Hollister said. “I was the only one in the car with a cell phone. Without it, we would have been stuck until the next morning.”