Hopefully, a new cell-phone policy at Wichita State University will spread outside the classroom.

Officials at Wichita State University have taken a foray into the battle to force cell-phone users to practice some common courtesy.

A new university policy, effective Nov. 21, requires students to turn off their cell phones and pagers during classes. Enforcement of the policy will be left to faculty members who also may approve exceptions to the policy for special circumstances.

It’s hard to believe that individual professors didn’t already have some policies against cell phones in class, so it seems likely that the new policy is intended to put some teeth into those restrictions. It seems like a rule that shouldn’t be necessary, but the cell-phone conduct that can be observed on a daily basis throughout our society confirms that some restrictions need to be spelled out.

Imagine standing in front of a large lecture class of 200 or 300 students, most of whom probably have a cell phone in their backpack or purse. Even if only a few of those phones are switched on, consider the distraction to both teacher and students when the devices start to buzz or even play one of those infernal novelty tunes. And what of the students who decide to answer those “urgent” calls and have a conversation during class? It should go without saying that such an interruption isn’t tolerable, but apparently WSU officials felt they had to make an explicit point.

It’s a point that needs to be made to many cell-phone users. People shouldn’t need a university or a teacher to alert them to their rudeness. And yet, too many people seem oblivious to how annoying it is for them to inflict conversations about their most personal business and opinions on whoever is sitting near them in a restaurant, a doctor’s waiting room, an airplane, a public restroom or any of the other places where cell phones now allow such conversations to take place.

It’s not just young people who practice such rude behavior, but our techno-friendly society apparently is raising many teens who are obsessed with “being connected” through cell phones. There are many valid reasons to use cell phones for business and emergencies, but much of the chatter that is overheard is optional, at best, and often boorish.

Sometimes it’s nice to be “out of touch.” It lets you keep your mind on what you’re doing, like listening in class or giving your full attention to the people who are in the same room with you. Maybe the WSU policy will help teach students the value of occasionally turning off the phone. If so, it may be one of the most valuable lessons that comes with their college degrees.