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Utah Valley University Offers Solution For Students Who Walk And Text

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Utah Valley University is giving its students a lesson about texting while walking.

Matt Bambrough, the school's director of creative services, is taking a stand against the multi-tasking trend that has been "sweeping the nation" by giving texters their own lane on one of the university' staircases, KTVU reported.

"You have 18-24 year olds walking down the hall with smartphones, you're almost bound to run into someone somewhere; it's something we're dealing with in this day and age, " Bambrough told Fusion. "But [preventing collisions] isn't the reason we did it -- we did it to engage the students. It's meant to be there for people to look at and enjoy."

Bambrough came up with an idea to paint a texting lane on one of the school's stairwells  as part of an art project that "aims to encourage people to think about whether they need to text at all times and to watch where they are going while texting," according to Inside Higher Ed reported.  It is also a humorous references to the pandemic.

Robbie Poffenberger, an editor for the university's student newspaper, said this project is useful in helping students avoid collisions, not just human-on-human clashes, but also human-on-inanimate-object collisions.

"They walk into barriers-chairs on the side of the hallway, or railings," Poffenberger told Fusion. "I'm sure they're fairly embarrassed."

According to KTVU, the art project has so far been ignored by some students "who see fit to weave in and out of the walking and running lanes, cell phone in hand."

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