Where my 919 people at? Now how bout that 704? I know I got some 252 in here! Anyone who’s ever been to a popular club in Greensboro has heard the shout out’s from the DJ or the constant battle within the crowd over area codes. Even without leaving campus, it’s written on the elevators, in various places on the sidewalk and even on the desks and walls of the library!

It’s ridiculous. More so, it’s three numbers before your phone number. Allow me to repeat that…it’s three numbers before your phone number. Area codes simply separate different regions of the Unites States and apply within each state. Ludacris made them popular in his song, “Area Codes” featuring Nate Dogg where he described the different “women” he had nationwide. That’s all well and good, but what importance does it have to the typical college student?

For one, it represents where you are from. They say you can’t know where you are going without looking at where you’ve been? In different ways, we are all a product of our environments, past and present. In that case, an area code would mean something. In another instance, an area code allows you to network. Knowing where people are from creates organizations such as “Metro Aggies” or the “New Jersey/New York Connection.” These groups make it possible to get to know others that can relate to one another in a way that those from other areas may not understand.

Other than those reasons, what’s it really good for? What good does it do to shout it out among a crowd of people or take the time to vandalize a piece of property? How old are we? Have we not grown up from writing on walls? Using it as art is one thing (graffiti) but come on now. I realize that many are proud of where they came from and there’s nothing wrong with that, but to take the time to write it everywhere or make a battle out of shouting is nothing to be proud of.

Think about it, employers don’t, for the most part, care about where you are from. Not in terms of an area code anyway. Let’s consider something a little more valuable as college students. Like…our majors! You hardly ever hear people representing their majors! Sure, you hear people make mention of it and the occasional, “my major is harder” or “I do more in my major” but nobody reps it like they would where they’re from.

At North Carolina A&T, there are 80+ majors to choose from within the 40 departments of the 12 colleges; granted, there are a total of 269 area codes in the US.

Does this difference in amount make it more vital to you getting a job one day? Employees want to know what kind of education you have had and what you can offer to their company as far as your skills. The major you choose prepares you for that.  Just like area codes connect people, so do majors. Engineering majors can relate to others of the same field while communication majors can connect as well. You can learn a lot from other students who have the same or similar career goals as you.

In addition, you can choose your major, but you can’t choose where you’re from. It’s all good to represent where you’re from, but it’s just as important not to forget where you’re trying to go. Before I go, I’d like to give a shout out to my journalism and mass communication majors!

• Stacie Bailey