The O-town Scene

January 13, 2011

The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY

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R.o.B.S. Grad student speaks A. only via cell phone WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. _ A Williams College graduate student is taking his genera- tion’s love of technology to a new extreme. Jason Fratelli of Worcester, Mass., has pledged to use his cell phone as his sole means of communication during the month of January. The 25-year-old communications major said he wanted to make a statement about how wed- ded his peers are to their devices. “What I’m doing is really just an exaggerat- ed version of what’s already commonplace,” Fratelli wrote in an e-mail Jan. 7 _ from his phone, of course. “You can look at a group of friends at a restaurant or a bar, and three out of five of them will be on their phones. People text each other from the next room, or the next seat. Personally, I think it’s weird that it’s so normal.” A week into his experiment, Fratelli has found it easy to get through his day without speaking to anyone in person. His smart phone _ he declined to identify the brand or carrier _ enables him to do his banking, chat with friends via text message, and, of course, update his Facebook, Twitter and blog status. (Fratelli blogs at cellonly.blogspot.com.) The biggest challenge so far? “I got lost outside of Northampton, and had to ask for directions at a gas station,” Fratelli wrote. “It was a little awkward, asking this guy to read something on my cell phone.” Fratelli’s girlfriend, Olivia Keynes, said she supports the experiment, but wouldn’t want to attempt it herself. “I kind of hate texting and all that stuff,” Keynes said by phone on Tuesday. “I’m one of those people who’s always bugging my friends to get out and do something.” But she said she understands the goal be- hind Fratelli’s month of digital dependence. “It’s scary how our friends didn’t notice any difference right away,” Keynes said. “We were at dinner with a group of people and Jason was not the only one who spent most of the meal on his phone.” Fratelli emphasized that he is “not a Luddite. I love technology _ I just think we have to question it sometimes.” However, he acknowledged that calling or texting people who are right next to him _ or typing out a message for them to read on his phone’s screen _ has been awkward at times. “I’ll be glad when it’s over,” Fratelli said. When that time comes, Fratelli said he plans to go “cold turkey,” spending four days at a Buddhist retreat in Rowe, Mass. Cell phones are not permitted at the retreat, and Fratelli will obey a vow of silence during his stay. Public profanity now B. legal in North Carolina RALEIGH, N.C. _ Cursing in public may not be seemly, but it is protected by the Constitution, a North Carolina judge ruled in striking down a 98-year-old state ban on public profanity. Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour dismissed a misdemeanor charge Wednes- day against Chapel Hill resident Samantha Elabanjo, who had been convicted in July of using the word “damn” during a confronta- tion with police officers. Baddour ruled the law against “indecent or profane language” within earshot of two or more people on any public road in North Carolina is too broad. “There is no longer any consensus, if there ever was, on what words in the modern American lexicon are ‘indecent’ or ‘profane,’” Baddour wrote. “A reasonable person cannot be certain before she acts that her language is not violative of this law, and it is therefore unconstitutionally vague.” The case started Feb. 15 when Elabanjo was having a conversation on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, and stepped into the road as a police cruiser drove by, according to court documents. The two officers asked her to get back on the sidewalk. She did, but told the of- ficers “You need to clean up your damn, dirty car” while still in the road. After she was back on the sidewalk, Elaban- jo waved her arms and called the officers a vulgar name. They arrested her, charging her with disorderly conduct and use of profanity on a public road. Jan. 13, 2011 O-Town Scene 23 It’s hard to tell what’s true these days. Take a gander below, and guess if A. and B. are Real or B.S. (Answers at the bottom of the page.) A. is B.S., by Emily Popek; B. is real.

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