Embedded Files
Moon Retzer | Opinion | October
As we all know, the Phone ban has gone into effect as of this school year. This law prohibits cell phones, smartwatches, and any other devices that use a bluetooth connection inside of the building during school hours. I’ve heard many teachers rejoice, happy that their students are now communicating more with their peers, which is good! I agree with the idea. Phones during class were a distraction for most, and banning them from the classrooms seems like the logical solution; however, this is not it.
As I stated before, I agree that phones were a problem. The amount of times I’ve heard a teacher say to stay off of phones and kids not listen was irritating. I can even admit that there have been a handful of times where I wasn’t 100 percent paying attention in class due to my phone. However, in those instances, phones were a problem during class time. What about lunch? What about off periods?
This is where the law is flawed. My lunch is supposed to be my time, and same with my off period. Why am I not allowed to use my phone during my own time off? I have nothing to pay attention to, no teacher is lecturing, and no homework to be done. Sure, I could read, but not every student likes to read. We could play on our iPads, but that just promotes students getting distracted on their iPads, and then we are back to square one with the phones. If they truly wanted to remove distractions, the iPads wouldn’t have Instagram or Pinterest. Students just found ways around the phone ban.
A graph showing the results of the poll done by The Courier Staff
In a poll conducted by The Courier for MHS, poll takers were asked to rate the phone bill 1 to 10.
Out of the 256 poll takers, 86 stated that they thought that the law was a one, the lowest rating. This was what I expected from the survey. The second highest rate was five, followed by a four, and so on.
Many, when asked about why they chose spot number one, said that the bill caused them inconveniences. “It’s unreasonably restrictive,” says one student, who wished to remain anonymous. “We should at least be able to use them at lunch or break periods without leaving the building. I feel like it’s not technically ‘academic hours’ then.”
More students agreed with this stance, including another student, Stirling Brube. Brube, a Sophomore at Mandan High School who rated the bill a 3, stated that, “I feel it is unnecessary. It was mostly put in place to take distractions away, which I understand, but we’re not Kindergarteners. We should learn how to use things responsibly, and if used irresponsibly, then there are consequences.”
A different part of this law that is an issue revolves around other bluetooth devices, including certain earbuds and smart watches. I don't use my earbuds just for music. I am someone who gets overwhelmed by loud noises, so things like the lunchrooms, pep rallies, and class meetings easily get overwhelming for me. I use them to block out most of the noise. If I used earplugs, I’d have to constantly prove they are earplugs. I could buy wired earbuds, but I would have no use for them after High School, so then I would have just wasted my money.
Another point I have is my smartwatch is basically useless with my phone off, so I don’t understand why I can’t have it on to check the time. A lot, if not all the clocks in the school have inaccuracies for the time, so I would like to know the real time, thank you.
Phones can, in fact, be an academic tool in many ways. Some assignments require pictures from our phones. Some apps that students use for academic purposes aren't available on the iPads. For example, Otter, an audio transcriber app, is something that The Courier uses to transcribe our interviews. The app is not available for download on our school issued devices. Since that has been cut off, we now have to hand type, word for word, all of our interviews. Sure, this is easy, but it’s wildly inconvenient.
A photo of students outside on their phones
Photo by Moon Retzer
Whether law makers like it or not, phones are a part of our life. A lot of students’ day to day lives, like jobs or after school activities, revolve around texting information. I have been built around the idea that a phone is a tool of communication. Today’s society is literally built around embracing technology and suddenly it’s like we’ve been cut off from the outside world.
In theory, the law could be made less strict. Keeping phones banned from a classroom is one thing I would keep. What I would change is the off periods and lunch time. Allow phones since this is the student’s time. They have no lectures to listen to and they have nothing they have to focus on. Allow us to unwind until our next class and relax a bit.
About The Writer: Moon Retzer, Editor-in-Chief
Moon Retzer is one of two Editor-in-Chiefs of the 2025-2026 Courier Staff. They have been writing for The Courier for
3 years. In addition to being the Editor-in-Chief, Moon is also the editor for the new Arts and Entertainment section.
Moon's favorite articles to write are Opinion and Feature pieces.
Page updated
Report abuse