The Doors’ “Light My Fire” punctuates the early morning quiet of the Quad. The opening notes sound weak as they play twice and then are cut off by “Hello.”
An increasing number of University students are downloading ringtones for their mobile phones.
Psychology freshman Michelle Ostrick has downloaded ’80s songs, the “Scooby Doo” theme and “Happy Birthday” for her upcoming birthday.
“It gives you a lift during the day when you hear ‘Blister In the Sun’ on your cell phone,” Ostrick said.
Other students say their ringtones are a reflection of themselves.
Sam Araujo, a senior in biochemistry has “The Lord of the Rings” theme on his cell phone, because he enjoyed the movie so much. He sees ringtones as a way for people to express themselves.
“In past years, when cell phones were rare, no one said ‘I wish mine would ring another way,'” said Araujo. “Since the market has expanded so much, people look for ways to personalize their phones.”
Accounting sophomore Ashby Campesi’s ringtone is “Mountain King.”
“I have two older brothers,” she said. ‘Peter and the Wolf’ was our favorite movie and they played that song. It reminds me of childhood.”
Jonathan Landry, a business sophomore, downloaded ringtones to be different.
“You hear the same rings on every phone,” he said. “I downloaded so I can hear the song when people call.”
ISDS sophomore Kyle Bratton says he can tell a lot about people by their ringtones.
“It’s funny when cell phones go off in class and some girl you would never expect has rap on her cell phone,” he said. “You get to choose your ringtone, so it is very reflective of personality.”
Other students are not as fanatical about their ringtones.
“I’m not that picky about my ringtone,” said Sally Milligan, a marketing junior. “It doesn’t bother me. I keep my phone on vibrate most of the time.”
Political science junior Desmond Stevens said he could not find the song he wanted to download.
“I wanted the SEC song that plays before football games,” he said. “I have a composer, but I don’t know F from D.”
Many students said their phones would not accept downloaded ringtones, and others were content with the pre-programmed ringtones.
Most students got their ringtones from free Web sites.
“I wouldn’t pay for ringtones,” said Erin Daniels, an animal science freshman.
She and Ostrick get their ringtones from www.2thumbswap.com.
“I’d pay if they had the LSU Fight Song,” Ostrick said.
Araujo downloads codes for his composer from a free Web site.
“I can select the key, the octave and the duration of the note using the composer,” Araujo said.
Of the major cell phone providers in the Baton Rouge area, only Cingular, AT&T and Alltel offer downloadable ringtones at their Web sites.