I have a created a new expression everyone should embrace: pulling a “Howie Day.”

The expression refers to the act of someone smashing a cellular phone to pieces in honor of the musician who visited campus last night.

For those who have not followed Day’s activities in the past couple of weeks, allow me to explain.

After a concert at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., Day allegedly locked a female fan in the bathroom of his tour bus and wouldn’t let her out until she agreed to perform some sort of sexual act. You can tell Day, who is famous for his unique brand of wuss-rock, is a classy guy.

The fan’s friend, who was on the bus with Day, then pulled out her cell phone and attempted to call the police, but Day took the phone from her and busted it like The Who used to bust up guitars and hotel rooms.

In no way do Day’s alleged actions deserve any sort of praise, but who out there hasn’t wanted to take someone’s cell phone from them and smash it into thousands of pieces?

Cell phones are a great convenience. Mine saves me the annoyance of paying Illinois Consolidated $2.35 a month for my couple of phone calls home. It also gives me peace of mind when I’m traveling.

Others, however, have turned a great technological advance for humanity into an abomination of common courtesy. As each month goes by, cell phone companies battle to outdo each other in annoying features for their devices. Now cell phones have digital cameras, stupid games and annoying ring tones.

Cell phones have become a status symbol. It’s a contest to see who has the most obnoxious features. One of my professors brags about his Palm Pilot slash cell phone. Who needs all of these features?

By far the most annoying feature anyone has ever conceived for a cell phone is Nextel’s two-way pager.

Initially, it seemed like a good idea. People can use their phones like walkie-talkies and they don’t have to worry about dialing numbers.

This once novel idea has been transformed into something more irritating than nails on a chalkboard. The high-pitched chirp of someone’s Nextel reverberating across campus makes my blood boil.

If people used it as it was intended, I wouldn’t have a problem with Nextel’s creative gadget. It’s just for delivering quick messages to people, but that is not how they are used.

Nextel users carry on long conversations via the two-way pagers. Last week I went to midnight pizza to meet some friends. I was early and had some time to kill so I decided to get some reading done for class.

I’d start to read and would hear the chirp. I’d look up and go back to my reading, only to hear it again. This went on for a good 10 minutes until my friends arrived.

Attention Nextel users: If your conversation is going take more than a minute, just call the person and save the people around you from the ungodly annoyance of your phone’s stupid chirps!

Nextel users probably won’t heed this sound advice, I must encourage everyone who wishes to stand for common courtesy to pull a “Howie Day” and thoroughly destroy someone’s cell phone.