Cleveland has the 216. People associate 513 with Cincinnati. Columbus residents share the 614. The Toledo area dials 419, while Dayton people live in the 937. Out-of-state students have less recognizable numbers.
According to the Ohio University Office of Institutional Research, 1,861 out-of-state students attended OU in Fall Quarter 2004. Cell phone area codes allow college students to connect to people from their hometowns.
From favorite sports teams to knowing the local hangout spots, it's always exciting to meet someone else from one's hometown, said Jed Reifer, a junior hearing, speech and language major from Pittsburgh.
Reifer meets people from the 412 area code all the time, but some area codes aren't as common on campus.
Freshman Courtney Dwyer knows only about five people from New Jersey, including two from her own 908 area code in South Brunswick. She enjoys running into people from her home state, especially because this area of Ohio is more fast-paced than New Jersey, she said. Fewer than 50 students from the Garden State attend OU, according the Office of Institutional Research.
I'm always so excited because we have so much to talk about
Dwyer said. Some of Dwyer's friends live in the Toledo and Cincinnati areas and have the same area code. They always relate to locality among one another, she said.
Peter Dahlstrom, a sophomore aviation major from Arlington, Va., said it's usually rare and cool to meet someone from his 202 area code. According to the OU Office of Institutional Research, 79 students from Virginia attended OU in Fall Quarter.
Junior chemical engineering student Brandon Pinkins moved from his hometown of Cleveland to Denver about a year and a half ago. He considers his 303 area code his home now, he said.
To some extent, an area code can define regions, economic status, the types of people in that region and ethnicity, Pinkins said. People's area codes also hold pride in where they are from.
Area codes made their way into pop culture as a sense of pride in one's hometown. Many songs mention area codes of the singers' hometown, including Area Codes by rapper Ludacris.
The New York Times did an article about young professionals in Washington, D.C., and their attachment to their home cell phone area codes. According to The Times, cell phone area codes prove that home is where the cell is. 17
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Caitlin Price
