Allison Rivera’s basic GoPhone doesn’t support downloaded ringtones, forcing her to revert to a factory setting ring. However, with her old phone, Rivera was riding the ringtone bandwagon, having her favorite song as her main ringtone and different songs assigned to callers in her contact list. “I had different ringtones for different people to let me know who is calling and whether I would want to answer it,” said Rivera, elementary education sophomore. “I had ‘I’m a Bitch’ for my mom and a Corey Smith song for my sister.” Walking through a crowded Quad, students’ favorite songs can be heard playing on their phones as they rush to see who is calling. Renee Edwards, communication studies professor, said humans have a need for individual expression.”According to the self-verification theory, [humans] have a fundamental need for others to recognize us and see us the way we see ourselves,” she said.Edwards said identities are very important to the human race, using things such as friends, clothing, cars and music to reflect a personal identity.Bridgette Mouton, psychology freshman, said her main ringtone is “All for You,” by Sister Hazel because of the rhythm and beat. “A customized ringtone is less boring and makes you excited when someone calls you,” Mouton said. Mouton said she has different ringtones for different people, such as Ferras’ “Hollywood’s Not America,” which plays when her best friend calls and serves as an inside joke between the two.”I have ‘Heads and Shoulders’ by Lil’ Wayne as my ringtone because I like the fast-paced way it sounds,” said Daniel Enger, accounting sophomore. “I don’t like anything slow.” Enger said he changes ringtones between country and rap every few months, depending on his mood and which new songs are released. Students aren’t the only one’s listening to their personalized ringtones. Though the University does not have a policy against cell phone use in class, individual professors often find them distracting, creating their own class policy for cell phones. “When a crazy ringtone goes off in class, it tends to be funny,” said David Brown, geography and anthropology professor. “It’s even more distracting and harder to refocus on what we’re doing in class, the more bizarre or crazy the ringtone is.”He said cell phones disrupting class have become less of a problem in recent semesters because students are usually cooperative and put the phones on silent.  However, crazy ringtones in class still cause a disturbance, he said. Roxanne Dill, mass communication instructor, said her class has few problems with cell phones because of her “if it goes off in class, I get to answer it” policy. However, she doesn’t mind personalized or crazy ringtones, she said.”Cell phones going off in class are distracting to the students and to me because you lose your train of thought,” she said. “If you’re gonna let it ring in class, it might as well have an interesting ringtone.”Apple Inc. launched their ringtone downloads in September 2007. Though Apple does not archive actual download numbers, according to the iTunes store, the top downloads as of Wednesday are “Right Round,” by Flo Rida, “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx and “Dead and Gone,” by T.I.Though downloaded and customized ringtones have become popular, not all students are on board with the ringtone trend. The average price in 2008 for a ringtone was $2, according to a 2008 Ipsos MediaCT study.”I usually just keep my phone on vibrate because it’s kind of annoying when people’s phones go off,” said Kasey Gillun, biology freshman. Gillun said she had downloaded ringtones on her previous phone, but decided not to add custom ringtones to her current phone because they cost too much. Some students download ringtones that bring back good memories and remind them of  certain people.Edwards said certain ringtones can create different moods and feelings based on the mental association of the song. “It makes sense that we choose ringtones because of their positive effects,” she said. “It could remind us of happy times, experiences, hobbies or our identity.”Brad Morgan, general studies senior, used to be a disk jockey, and he said his ringtone, “Smack My Pony,” by Ltzenkirchen, reminds him of his days spinning records. “I like this ringtone because of the electronic music,” he said. “It reminds me of the turntables.”Morgan prefers downloaded ringtones because standard, factory ringtones are “too annoying.” “When my mom calls, my phone just plays a standard ringtone so I can avoid the call,” he said. Gillun said her old phone played a ringtone made by her best friend when her friend would call. Rivera said she misses not having downloaded ringtones and plans to add them in the future once her current phone stops working. “Downloaded ringtones are more exciting,” she said. “It brings excitement to my boring life.”
 
 
—-Contact Steven Powell at [email protected]