Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye

I remember when I was growing up, all TV or movie representations of college dorm phones could be summed up by "Pay Phone in the Hallway". That, and the idea of community showers and sexually segregated dorms haunted me until I got to college and discovered that I had my own bathroom, my own phone line and girls down the hall. [I had to share the bathroom and phone with 5 other guys ... I didn't share the girls with anyone.]

Now it seems as if things are coming full circle. [well, almost.] From Engadget:

According to the Washington Post, schools like AU are finding that it's now more cost-effective to either ditch their student land lines altogether, or just put a few phones in hallways, rather than maintaining their aging systems. For the handful of students still without cell phones, it looks like it's time to start saving those quarters.

The same thing is happening at the University where I work. It seems that the dorm room phone is on its way out. Still, let's spare the kids the trauma of communal showers.