n February, Cameron Watson, a freshman undecided major, found herself standing in a Wendy's parking lot waiting for a tow truck. Her car broke down. When she figured out she couldn't do anything about the problem herself, she pulled out her handy cellular phone, which she always carries with her, and called for help.

Even though the incident wasn't as serious as being stranded on a highway in the middle of Montana, the cell phone resolved the situation quickly.

"It would've been more inconvenient," she says. "I'd have to find a pay phone and find quarters or a calling card. And it would've been more expensive."

Price and convenience seem to be important reasons why Kent State has been filling up with students walking to class or sitting outside the Student Center with a cell phone snuggled against their ears. If students want to buy cell phones, there isn't much to stop them anymore.

Freshman Fenton Beech, a graphic design major, bought his cell phone around the beginning of fall semester.

"People were never able to get a hold of me, and I found a pretty good deal on one," he says.

Beech owns a standard black phone that was free with the pricing plan he chose. He saw phones that flipped in half and ones with a several features, but says he didn't need anything special. He doesn't feel the need to use his phone all the time, particularly on campus.

"I know people who don't use their cell phones at all," he says. "But some people use theirs too much."

Beech says he thinks his cell phone use is relatively moderate. But when he wants to get in touch with someone and his phone is in his backpack, he takes advantage of the convenience.

"I use it to return calls. I use it for calling my girlfriend to see what she's up to. I use to call my friends to see what they're up to. But nothing life or death," he says. "I could imagine life without it. I could survive."