Your cell phone is alive. At least, the 2,471,703 germs living on it are. That’s the equivalent of 494 toilet seats. Grossed out yet?

Freshman Brittony Trumbull is. After all, the bacteria and bugs that are picked up with every phone call pose a giant threat to the immune system – hers, yours and every other’s person’s at Langley.

Now if those are the germs that are on our cell phones, just imagine what lurks around every corner on the doorknobs, the faucets and the neglected lockers. Is it crazy to fear the germs that surround us, or simply necessary?

A bad case of mononucleosis in fourth grade transformed Trumbull into an avid germ-watcher. Because “mono” is usually contracted by sharing drinks with someone who is infected,Trumbull is extra conscious of her drink sharing and backwash. She only drinks filtered water, and never shares.

“Once, I got a giant drink for twelve dollars, and I had to throw the whole thing away when I accidentally backwashed,” she said. “I just sip drinks really carefully to make sure I don’t backwash.”

Trumbull’s fear is not as uncommon as you might think. A survey of the cafeteria at Langley revealed that there was generally at least one self-proclaimed germaphobe at each table.

While Trumbull focuses most of her germ consciousness on her drinks, many Langley students fess up to obsessive cleanliness and a dramatic fear of sharing food.

Another freshman, Rachel Tagliareni, is one such germaqueen. “I can’t share food with my friends, not even my mom,” she said. “I wish my hands before I touch anything.” As for extra precautions she takes at home to avoid germs, she has “an extra powerful dishwasher to make sure dishes come out clean.”

For other students, hand sanitizer is enough. But they don’t just use it once.

“I use hand sanitizer during every class, and in between,” said senior Lily Jaraha. “When I leave the cafeteria, I use all of the hand sanitizers that I pass on the way out,” added freshman Rachel Brunjes.

As the common cold and flu most ordinarily occur in the winter time, there’s no doubt for these students that it’s germ-hunting season.