As students know by now the statewide cell phone ban issued by Gov. Tina Kotek is in full swing here at South. But what has that looked like day-to-day for students and administrators? Has the policy been enforced throughout the building?Administrators and teachers have noticed the benefits of students being off their cellular devices during instructional time, and there has been improvement in compliance since the ban became more strict after winter break.
“We are seeing far less cell phone usage in common spaces”, Principal Kee Zublin said.
“On the first day we started taking phones, we took over 30; today I have taken none.”
And each day since, there has been a shockingly low amount of phones taken.
“We usually have to take less than 10 cell phones per day,” Zublin said. That equates to less than one percent of the student body at South.
The ban has also been more strongly enforced in many classrooms. English teacher JoBeth Dailey is one teacher who has established a solid cell phone policy in her class.
“I have a greater percentage of students participating in discussions during class and completing work,” Dailey said.“I have only had to take four phones from students in my room this semester.”
However Dailey has noticed it is challenging for students to follow the rules during time outside of class, such as passing periods and lunch.
“I have encountered many students on their phones during passing periods,”she said.
She is one of the teachers who is helping to monitor phone use during these times.
“[During passing periods] I have a small plastic basket that students can place their phone in, and I write their name on a sticky note and take it to the Main Office.”she explained
But this can be tricky.
“One of the hardest parts of enforcing the cell phone/PED ban,” Dailey said, “is student pushback. I have had students respond with, ‘No,’ run away from me, laugh at me and walk away, and stand and argue.”
This can be tough on teachers.
“I expect students to make mistakes,” Dailey said. “We are all human. I also expect students to own their actions, and they really seem to struggle with accountability when it comes to phones.”
Nonetheless students are still not enjoying it, to stay the least.
“The ban is terrible. It’s inconvenient and extremely unsuccessful,” South sophomore Ella Galas said.
Though it appears that the ban is effective, students are not sure it really is.
“It just isn’t working,” Galas said. “Kids are just finding a way to use their phones anyways.”
This seems to be a common feeling with students throughout South
“I hate the cell phone ban,” South senior Luke Phillips said. “I haven’t actually broken the cell phone ban, but I’ve seen kids in the hallways get their phones taken with no warning and no mercy. [The adult] just puts their names on a sticky note and takes [the phone] to the office.”
Phillips is a student worker in the Main Office, and on occasion has seen students come into the office regarding their phones.
“Sometimes students come in about their phones being taken away and are very rude about it,” he said.
But the students working in the office have sympathy
“I think kids are just very angry about having their phones taken away and just can’t control their anger,” Phillips said.
This has even appeared to change the overall workflow in the office
“I’ve noticed the ban can distract from the usual office stuff if the administrators are always [dealing] with phones,” South senior and office worker Ruby Le Duc said.
Even with the pushback against the ban, students seem to understand that teachers and administrators are just doing their jobs
“Maybe the faculty members [are being unreasonable],” South sophomore and Axe reporter Saksham Sinha said, “but I suppose that’s what their job is, so no hard feelings.”
It could also be argued that phones are not always distracting, and that they are, in fact, pretty useful.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been distracted by my phone,” Sinha said. “[And] it has been difficult to do stuff freely because a phone has a lot of uses in school, and when you lose it you lose some of the tools that you will need.”
Another concern is students lack of communication without their cellular devices
“I’ve had it taken twice and it was just annoying, I couldn’t communicate with my family and friends,” Galas added.
But arguably the most important issue brought up by students was safety.
“The No. 1 reason I hate the phone ban,” Phillips said, “is because if there is any kind of emergency, I want to be able to get ahold of my parents and let them know if I am OK or not, especially after the bomb threats that happened a couple years back.”
Regardless of the challenges and opinions that may arise, the cell phone ban is here to stay.
Article By Tilda Rodhe