Students have not been happy with the new “no phone zone” policy during study hall. The school now requires freshman and sophomores to put their phones into a bag during their study hall, with absolutely no access to them. Administrators say they are enacting this policy to better their health and mental growth, along with staying out of trouble.

Students should not be on their phones during study hall because they affect brain development and the ability to make accurate decisions.

The use of phones should not be allowed for the freshman and sophomores. The administration is trying to better the students by enacting this rule. These students brains simply are not developed enough yet to make proper decisions. Students were not being productive in their free time, often wasting the whole 75 minutes they had to complete school work.

The school had an increase in incidents of bullying and other kinds of harassment over the past years with social media and other cell phone use. A majority of these incidents were being traced to the students free time when they were allowed to use their phones. The administration made the decision this year to help the students stay out of trouble instead of having to track them down for bullying type behavior that was put on their social media. The upperclassmen were not having the same kind of difficulty with cell phone use. As a result, they are trusted more to do the right thing.

Freshman and Sophomores may argue that they need their phone to listen to music, text their parents, or for emergencies. They have the ability to listen to music on their laptop, text in between every class and during activity period, and there is a proctor in every room in case of emergency.

Students do not need their phones for study hall. Statistics show that there is little positive outcome with the use of cell phones. 75 minutes without a cell phone should not be an issue.