As soon as I got here, text messages quickly became a primary, and constant, form of communication in my life. It made getting in touch with people easy when our schedules were all different, and it was convenient and useful to boot.

Another added benefit that became clear was being able to check email on my phone—how else would I be able to curb the seemingly endless accumulation that began nearly on the first day of Orientation?

Yet the added convenience quickly became an added dependence.

I’m sure you know the feeling. You start noticing a phantom buzz against your leg while your phone rests on the table. You constantly check to make sure that you didn’t miss something of importance, even when you know it hasn’t vibrated in ten minutes. You’re always aware of any sort of blinking from the corner of your eye, despite the fact that your phone is off.

Perhaps some of my cell-phone habits stem from my occasionally neurotic tendencies, but I don’t think I’m by myself here.

I’m especially certain that I’m not the only one who tries to respond to most texts as soon as I get them. There’s a level of courtesy in this, of course, but there’s also something strange in its urgency.

I wonder what my parents did at the University of North Carolina when a friend wanted to get in touch with them. Or when one of their parents needed to share some important family information. They could have been out of their rooms all day, without that oh-so-direct method of contact that we’re all so used to, and they would be blissfully out of the loop for that whole period.

From conversations with friends, I know I’m not alone in loving that blissful feeling of freedom when I leave my phone in my room for a couple of hours.

Recently, when sitting at a table in the DUC, I found myself the only one there who wasn’t checking something on their phone. Why I didn’t say anything about it at the time probably speaks best to the fact that we’re so used to this by now.

After that, I began to notice the effects of checking my own phone in public. When responding to a text message or reading an important email, I have very nearly walked into other pedestrians, bicyclists, even a door or two. I’ve momentarily ignored conversations to check my phone after it buzzes, even if it’s to read a distinctly unimportant email. I’m crossing a line in my daily interactions and I need to take a couple of steps back.

I definitely have my own problems with constantly checking my phone, but right now I want to say: “Enough is enough.”

I’m going to try to make an effort, a real effort to keep my phone in my pocket when I’m having a conversation, and to excuse myself if I must take a call, or check an email, or respond quickly to a text. Whoever’s on that other end is important, but whomever I’m speaking to, in person, is too. I don’t want to sound like a Luddite (or my mother), but I feel like there’s something we’re losing in our human interactions from all the texting.

Maybe I’ll fail at my plan tomorrow. But I’ll be thinking about it for longer than that, and will hopefully improve for the next day. And for the day after that.

I challenge you, dear reader, to make an effort, too. Experience the world outside your cell phone, if only for a little while. I think it’ll be worth it.

(Note: This column was, ironically, composed on a laptop. Perhaps my next move is to lug around a typewriter all day.)

This is a practical answer that attempts to justify the choice of an impractical major, but I think there are things within it that make sense. I am an adamant believer in the notion that the study of words helps us to relate to others, to understand our own positions, goals and desires—in short, to make sense of the world around us. But I also think that at Washington University, and no doubt at other elite institutions of higher education, that the model by which the humanities are taught has largely abandoned that higher purpose.

In any given literature class at Wash. U., student performance is evaluated primarily by papers—typically, five-to-12 page beasts that require a fair amount of thought and observation and ask for a coherent argument about the texts in question. Students here generally put a significant amount of work into these papers, often taking several nights in the library to write them. And oftentimes when I hear the theses of papers my friends have written, I’m blown away by their creativity, piqued with enough curiosity to want to read their papers and alter my own argument on the basis of what they’ve said.

But sharing our papers is not a model that we’re taught to abide by—in fact, I would imagine that the American university system pegs sharing your thesis with a friend who’s writing the same paper as some latent variety of plagiarism. We are taught, instead, to print our papers out and turn them in silently after expending hours of time and energy on literary analysis. Generally, the only person exposed to our work is a professor, and generally, we get it back with a few check marks, a letter grade and some fairly succinct comments.

And even if these comments weren’t succinct, we wouldn’t be able to do much with them: As soon as we get one paper back, we’re already thinking about how to write the next one. Despite the amount of thought and energy we’ve put into our analyses, we are rarely given room for revision or expansion—requirements that could broaden our understandings significantly.

The scope of what we discuss in class and write about, too, often means that we are not learning from what we read the way we could. As human beings, we’re inclined to read not because we want to look for an author’s technique or find obscure allusions in his work, but because we want to better understand our lives and the lives of those around us. We ought to be reading not for canonical or historical significance, but for meaning. We ought to be looking both inward at ourselves and outward at the world, not sideways at what a host of literary critics have already said.

I understand that at some level of higher education, solo research papers in the humanities may be necessary. For graduate students, it may make sense to perform a careful analysis of criticism. But at the undergraduate level, I would ask humanities departments at the University to consider changing their model of instruction by allowing students to write papers in groups or pairs, by focusing class discussions on the moral and ethical debates or on the emotional meaning contained within the texts and by shifting focus to expansion and revision of already-generated papers.

Perhaps that sounds easy, or perhaps it sounds soft. The humanities have tried for a long time to avoid being seen as soft by the hard sciences with whom they share a university. Let’s face it: Done well, the humanities aren’t easy to study, but they are, unavoidably, soft. The study of human meaning and purpose isn’t rigid, and I don’t see a problem with allowing it its softness.

The non-profit site, which will be called BazaarBoy, will allow students to trade goods, services, and information all in one place. The site’s developers plan to launch by the end of the semester.

“The premise behind it is that there are a lot of factors on campus, but you can’t access them all at once” said sophomore Eric Hamblett, co-head of business development. “There are a lot of different venues for information, but no way to combine them.”

The site will center on a “Bazaar,” where students can buy and trade goods—textbooks, concert tickets, furniture, or even services like tutoring—that will be categorized by virtual “tables.”

Another section of the site, called “The Beat,” will let students search upcoming events, classifieds and bulletin boards.

The site will also provide outlets for communication among students, such as discussion boards and student-written reviews.

The site’s developers hope to avoid competing with student groups such as Lock & Chain, which holds an annual textbook sale, by having interested groups open their own BazaarBoy pages. They hope to incorporate student businesses on the site as well.

“Our purpose isn’t to cut anyone else out, but to help them grow and prosper through us,” said sophomore Parker Spielman, co-designer for the site. “We’re like a stepping stone.”

The site will also feature a Greek store where students can trade Greek products and apparel, which they hope will improve the Greek experience on campus.

The greater goal of the site is to connect students on a personal level, creating a more close-knit student body.

“It’s not just cold hard selling—you can browse, comment on something funny your friend is selling” said freshman Spencer Hewett, who works on web design and business development. “It’s a very open forum intended to build community.”

The boys also plan to set up BazaarBoy meeting spots where students who are trading can meet. This will allow them to make a personal connection and ensure the accountability of the seller—an issue with other trading websites like eBay.

“We’re really trying to incorporate is exclusivity” said Spielman. “We hope that will be a big draw.”

The website itself will not deal with transferring money, letting individual buyers and sellers arrange payments. Its developers do not plan to receive any revenue.

So far, reception to the idea has been positive. Many students enjoy the idea of buying and selling books among their peers instead of dealing with the bookstore or ordering online.

“I’d for sure be down to hit up a site like that and score some cheaper textbooks” said freshman Brett Goldberg. “I feel like I always get wrecked by online prices; besides, [this way] all the money goes back to Wash. U. students.”

According to freshman Emilio Ramos, graphic designer for BazaarBoy, the site caters well to particular student needs.

“For a lot of courses in the art school [especially], students will be split between two classes and then switch places the next semester” Ramos said. “With the site, students can simply trade one book for another, without having to buy a new one.”

Students also like the idea of the student-written reviews section.

“The housing selection process is really confusing,” said freshman Kate Doyle. “It’d be nice to have a place where I can hear past student’s experiences and find out which dorms are best and which to avoid.”

Updated information on the website’s launch is available on the BazaarBoy pages on Facebook and Twitter.

I’d love to shed some light on the situation from the masculine perspective, or at least from my version of the masculine perspective.

Carly brings up a delightfully tricky situation in her description of a romantic endeavor with a young man that started spontaneously and went on briefly without an official label (whether posted on Facebook or verbalized); she says that after the initial hook-up and a few follow-ups, “I thought that simply not returning phone calls would probably get the message across.”

Yikes. Well, let me speak for the gentlemen callers when I say that we’ve all been in the situation and, no, as a matter of fact, not returning phone calls (or text messages, e-mails, Facebook messages, etc.) most likely did not clarify the situation for us.

The best example of this is the ever-ambiguous “I’m busy” from a girl whom I’m interested in. Without any other information, that word “busy” leaves me feeling uncertain. Is she “busy” the way that pre-meds are busy the night before a Chemistry exam, or is she so busy that she might never find time to spend with me? You (the girl) might think it’s obvious you’re not into him, but odds are 10-to-1 that your suitor is instead reading your last text to him and trying to interpret whether or not that abbreviated ellipsis (i.e. dot-dot “..” but not dot-dot-dot “…”) with which you ended the message implies anything. It’s painful and it has been so since the first guy who ever was interested ran into the first girl who ever may or may not have been busy.

I want to avoid drawing a line in the sand between us and the fairer sex, and give due credit to Carly. It’s true that guys pursue girls pretty persistently and it’s a lot to deal with; a lot of guys will pursue girls until they say the word “no.” Sometimes you might want to just ignore that text and you don’t know why “So-and-so” is so freakin’ into you. I’m certainly guilty of this; when my interest has been piqued, at times I have not backed down when there have been a few good reasons to do so. Why didn’t I back down? Because I wasn’t sure!

So what next? Well, let me speak once again for the guys and say that we would appreciate clear communication even if it’s not the best of news. No communication is no information, and, therefore, there is nothing to base decisions off of. When she’s “busy,” I’m in Limbo, checking my phone for texts.

Clear communication is pure relationship gold, whether you’re ready for serious commitment or you’re at the point in life when you still make the distinction between “have gone on dates with So-and-so” and “dating So-and-so.”

Let me suggest that clear communication will get you and your now ‘just-friends’ friend both (individually, in this case) to the place where you want to be faster and with less confusion. When he knows you’re totally not into him, he’ll be that much more motivated to go find his next true love (or next friend with benefits, or whatever) and leave you alone. And you’ll be free to do the same.

However, Washington University delivered a seemingly rushed message that failed in its responsibilities. It is both troubling and disheartening that the University was unable to deliver a message that both communicated the serious dangers that were posed by the crime and that was sensitive to the survivor.

At 10:30 a.m., a University-wide crime alert and memo was e-mailed, informing the campus community of a sexual assault that occurred early that morning on Skinker Boulevard.

Our first concern with the alert was the use of the term ‘sexual assault.’ Broad in scope, sexual assault can refer to anything from inappropriate touching to sexual harassment to rape, which is specifically defined as forced penetration. After the announcement, many students questioned the nature of the crime and were unaware that their fellow student was raped.

While the University should not propagate fear, it is crucial that the campus know that a fellow community-member was raped. The community needs an accurate representation of the crime in order to take the appropriate safety precautions, and in circumstances like these, the University must work to ensure that the severity of the situation is reflected in the message it delivers. By deliberately choosing the term sexual assault, the University downplayed the dangers present in the areas around campus.

Furthermore, the University implied that the student could have prevented her attack by using the Campus2Home shuttle. The alert failed to mention that shuttle service did not cover the area south of campus where the survivor was raped; service to that area promptly began Monday night. The administration should have been tactful in the composition of its message in order to ensure that it did not inadvertently place any blame on the survivor. Although the University’s intentions were certainly not to suggest that the victim was partially at fault for this attack, by listing safety precautions in the e-mail with the crime alert, it suggested that the student could have prevented the rape, when it was the attacker and only the attacker who committed this crime.

While people should be aware of effective safety measures and the Campus2Home shuttle service, this was not the place to mention University services or general precautions.

From the campus-wide alert, it is clear that the response was delivered in haste and the University placed its image over delivering an incisive and accurate message. The Washington University administration used the campus-wide alert system as a vehicle for public relations, sidestepping its appropriate use: a message system that sensitively communicates the dire seriousness of the situation to the campus. The first alert to students should have been a crime alert. A subsequent notification could have informed students of security servies offered on and around campus while maintaing proper distance from the facts surrounding the crime.

WUPD, Student Health Services, the administration and the new assistant director for community health and sexual assault services, who is set to begin in June, are vital aspects to the prevention and management of such crimes, but they need to separate public relations and the dissemination of advice on crime prevention and support from distribution of the cold, hard facts. This will assure that the University is seen as empathetic to the victim and is working to prevent these attacks in the future.

Many students use these emerging technologies to communicate with their families every day.

Freshman Derek Sun uses his cell phone and e-mail to stay in touch with his parents. “When people had to write letters, it must have been much harder. It’s nice to know that I can call my family. It’s comforting to have no waiting period,” he said.

Wash. U. is home to many international students. First-year graduate student Firuz Mohamad’s parents live in Malaysia. She has siblings who live in Egypt and Korea.

Mohamad uses Yahoo Messenger, Facebook, e-mail, her cell phone and calling cards to keep in touch with her family.

“The technology here is excellent and it means a lot to me,” Mohamad said. “If you don’t have this technology it is impossible to keep in touch.’

Karen Coburn, senior consultant in residence at the University, is an expert on student’s college experiences.

“Students and parents certainly are able to keep in touch more easily than ever before,” Coburn wrote in an e-mail to Student Life. She lists cell phones, texting and Skype, among other technologies, as ways that students can now communicate with their parents.

Coburn recognizes the extra support that these new means of communication can afford students, but questions the effect that this increased communication has on the college experience.

“While this support is valuable and much appreciated, the ubiquitous availability of communication with parents can inhibit students’ ability to take ownership of their education,” Coburn wrote. “The challenge for today’s students is to immerse themselves in university life—to learn to use the resources on campus as they make decisions and solve problems instead of simply turning to mom or dad.”

Students on campus disagree with Coburn’s point. Sophomore Lauren Evers talks with her parents every day. She also uses e-mail to communicate with her family.

“We just left home, and it’s nice to have your parents close,” Evers said. “[Communication] is not a crutch. It is just a form of support. It’s good to have a support system and to be able to reach your parents if you need to.”

Second-year MBA student Mustali Shah said that his communication with his family has increased as new technologies have emerged. He uses video chat and his cell phone to communicate with his family two to three days each week.

“It’s good to keep in touch regularly,” he said. “Around exams it is nice to have someone you can talk to.”

New technologies, such as Skype, have also provided a means of communication for students who are studying abroad. Senior Sofia Balters, who has family in Chile, used the program when she spent a semester abroad. She says that Skype has enabled her to develop a closer relationship with her family abroad. Balters speaks with her parents several times each week.

“Skype is great,” she said. “I think our communication has been just great.”

Above all, students are grateful for the new technology.

Washington University, in fact, is executing a campus construction plan that is deeper than simply remodeling buildings. The so-called Plan for Excellence includes improving the University’s appearance and how it realizes its educational mission. A remnant of the 1995-initiated Project 21, the Plan for Excellence is a framework for building a more successful university over the next decade. The plan is expounded at http://theplan.artsci.wustl.edu.

The problem with the Plan for Excellence is that the above Web site is the only place where it is publicly expounded. Select groups of students such as residential advisors and administrative groups have heard the presentation on the plan and were able to glean a greater understanding of the construction and major changes the University has been making in recent years. However, current students have not been the beneficiaries of any major effort to disseminate information about, or to even mention, this plan.

Students at Washington University need to understand why the major inconveniences they experience each day due to construction and major University transitions are occuring.

Groups that have heard Dean McLeod’s presentation on the Plan for Excellence have emerged from the experience with a mind sympathic toward the University’s goals rather than antagonistic toward them. The University and its students both would benefit from a well-publicized, well-organized presentation in Graham Chapel, to which all students were invited, expounding the Plan for Excellence.

Students are eager to understand why the changes they experience each day are occurring and what changes will occur in the future, but only with the University’s aggressive promotion and publication of information about its Plan will this much-needed chain of communication gain its first link.

Students, particularly underclassmen, have been especially marginalized by the lack of concern for their knowledge about construction projects on the South 40. A “Construction News” link on the Residential Life Web site, to which concerned students were directed by Residential Life e-mails, presents three links: a construction map of the 40, Umrath demolition pictures and “Construction News.” The “Construction News” link contains the following comment, and only the following comment regarding the South 40: “Construction of the new Umrath House and the new Wohl Center Phase 1 will be ongoing throughout the school year. Construction should be mostly contained within the construction fence. Please use caution when walking near the construction site; there may be construction-related traffic in the area.”

We hardly need to say that this information is an insult to the students who will be spending their entire academic year in a residential area ravaged by construction. What is Wohl Center Phase 1? What will the new Umrath House look like? Will there be any new paths paved, so that our walks to class don’t take so long? I heard there will be a path between Beaumont and Ruby, but I can’t be sure. When will construction start and end each day? Construction will be mostly contained within the fence? Mostly?

Residential Life’s emphasis on creating a community for students, rather than just a place to sleep, is in direct opposition to the “try not to hurt yourself” attitude that the “Construction News” page presents. Though it may plead “lack of direct connection” with the construction company, ResLife is still responsible when water is cut off in Ruby, Lee and Beaumont just as freshmen arrive on campus, when construction fences are haphazardly left hanging open during weekends and when Brookings and Wayman Crow residential colleges are a 10-minute walk away from each night’s dinner.

Though the University administration and Residential Life can do very little to eliminate the inconveniences that major structural changes in the University cause, they can help students understand these changes. To this point, the effort to inform has been next to nonexistent. It is time, right now, for the University to help its students understand its present and its future.