Oh, the telephone. A wonderful tool that has connected billions of people since the time of its conception. It’s doubtful that the inventors would have any clue about the amount of reach it could have.
The telephone later evolved into the cellphone, housing social media, music and questionable conversations with Tinder matches! All this to say that picking up the phone to talk to someone takes mere seconds, and where you choose to take that call matters.
Included below are some of the best places to take a call on campus (Warning: sarcasm ahead).
1. The library
Quiet zones are just a suggestion, friend. If someone didn’t want to listen to your conversation, why would they sit in an indoor common space? Settle into a comfortable chair in Pattee or Paterno and get ready to tell your mom about your recent Amazon purchases. The Harry Potter room and collaboration spaces have great acoustics!
2. When it’s almost your turn to order
Forget looking at the menu instead of your screen, there are more important things at hand! It’s okay if you avoid eye contact with the cashier as you step up to the counter: they, too (and the line of people behind you) can wait until you finish your convo. No need to let the person on the line know that you’re about to order it’ll only take a second!
3. At the gym
It could be argued that being on the phone between sets is an imperative part of cooling off. Be loud so they can hear you over the noise of people lifting weights in the background!
4. Minutes before class starts
The girl you hooked up with last weekend was a baddie, and your classmates should know it. Your descriptions of her body will in no way make the people around you uncomfortable. As long as the professor hasn’t entered the room yet, the atmosphere can stay casual. When the professor does inevitably walk in, regrettably state that they have entered and you have to go.
5. On a silent CATA bus ride
You didn’t ‘kick the sheets’ for nothing and neither did the other people on the white or blue loop. Since they’re already awake, there’s no harm in speaking your truth at max volume. Their commute is only sweetened by the sounds of your voice.
6. In An Elevator
It’s not quite the elevator that makes the setting of a conversation so sophisticated, but the extremely personal details that others sharing an elevator with you may be privy to. Trauma dumping is only real to sensitive people after all, right?
Where else do you think it’s acceptable to take a call on campus? Let us know and tweet us @VALLEYmag!
