As of January 6, 2020, students are no longer allowed to take their phones to the restroom. Staff and administration have been having lots of trouble with kids leaving class for the “restroom,” only to learn they’ve gone to walk around, pay a visit to a friend, or even drop in on a favorite teacher. All this while they kill time on their phones. Quite a bit of students were caught off guard by the new rule as many of them didn’t think little phone breaks were a problem, but it’s a waste of valuable class time. A student that asked to remain anonymous explained, “It’s kind of inconvenient because, what if you are in the restroom while a shooting takes place you won’t be able to contact anybody and can keep you from emergency updates, also the bathroom doors don’t lock.”

This school-wide rule seems to be working so far: some students might attempt to beat the system and get out of class with their phones, but most teachers know it wasn’t “left at home.” The school staff and administration believe this rule may keep more students in class and learning. If students are caught with their phone outside of class, the phone will be confiscated, sent to the office along with a detention and a parent will need to come pick it up.

Some students were upset with the new rule because of how “precious” their phones are to them, but other students don’t see it as much of a problem. Teachers are using the rule, but some don’t want to keep phones as much as students don’t want to hand them over.  In the end a rule is a rule and all students must abide by them.