As the new school year began, students at OFHS found themselves at risk of having to part with their beloved smartphones due to the enforcement of the cell phone policy. The administration and some teachers have been collecting cell phones from students who have them out while walking in the hallways or during lunches. This cell phone policy is not a new thing; there always was a rule restricting phones during school hours. However, students need to be alert and put their phones out of sight if they don’t want them taken away.

As 9^th grader Daniel Doubleday sees things, “it’s just people making mistakes when they have it out. I put my phone away in my pocket so I don’t use it”. Some students may not realize that they run the risk of their phone being taken until it is too late. With all of the social media apps and the need to share with others the joys of your school day, the habit of always having your phone on hand may be hard to break.

“Some of the reasons I personally have seen students on cell phones: texting someone, showing pictures or texts etc. to their friends, texting their parents and sometimes they have their phones out under the table and I cannot tell what they are doing,” reveals Ms. Ouellet, assistant principal, when asked about why she thinks students use their phones, even though they know the consequences. “Most of the time they don’t say what they were doing, and the point is they are not supposed to have the phones out from 7:05 – 1:35”.

One student who feels that cell phones should be accessible at all times is junior Ashden Kaibney. “My brother was in the hospital and I needed to contact my mom to see what was happening and I got my phone taken away… I had to wait 20 minutes to get it back. I wasn’t trying to be rude, I just needed to figure out when I was being picked up. It is not good, especially for health reasons and family issues. It’s a problem if there is an emergency too.” However, Ms. Ouellet says that “if students need to reach their parents, they can go to the front office to use the phone at any time”.

Some students hope a compromise can be reached, allowing phones to be used during certain periods of the day. “I think they should be used during lunch because we’re not really doing anything like learning. It’s not a distraction,” states Michael Jansen, 11^th.

Students may think that the cell phone policy should be a little more lenient; the fact is that the policy is still in place now. Administrators and teachers are still collecting phones from students who have them out. “Approximately 75 cell phones have been taken from students by teachers and administrators,” during the week of August 26, states Ms. Ouellet. If you are a student whose phone has been taken away, Ms. Ouellet explains how you can retrieve it. “Students can pick up their cell phones at the end of the day from their alpha clerk, except (H-O)–they pick their cell phones up from Mrs. Kelly who is located next to my office, if they are taken from an administrator or a teacher in the halls.”