The rules and regulations for students’ cell phone usage have drastically changed this school year. Since the first day back to school, the Trojan Guest Wi-fi was turned off at the beginning of the school day and switched back on at 2:45 p.m. This new policy sparked numerous complaints from students and parents.
The policy was introduced to help increase student productivity and reduce the risk of hackers gaining access to private information. When students don’t have access to their phones during the school day, they will be less likely to get distracted and waste time that could be spent working. Students will also become more focused during their classes when they don’t have to worry about what is happening on their phones. These reasons will have a positive impact on the student body, but that hasn’t stopped the complaints from rolling in. Students have not been shy to voice their opinions about the lack of Wi-Fi and how it is affecting their days. A compromise was recently implemented to favor both the staff and the student body.
Bathroom vandalism is unfortunately a common issue in the school. Student bathrooms are frequently closed off for repairs because of the severe amount of damage done to them. Students writing on the stall doors and students stealing soap dispensers and bathroom stall doors has been a significant issue in the past. To combat the recurring vandalism and bathroom closures, CHS introduced a new Wi-Fi policy in exchange for no bathroom vandalism. If there is no vandalism in the student bathrooms, then students will have access to Wi-Fi from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. While this compromise is considered to be a great idea, many students are still not satisfied with their limited Wi-Fi time. Recently, the cafeteria Wi-Fi was turned off for all students because of vandalism found in the student restrooms, and members of the student body feel as though they should not all be punished for the actions of just one student.
“There are a lot of good kids in this school that get their work done and have free time and they should be able to go on their phones. There are other people that vandalize the bathrooms and they deserve the punishment for vandalizing the school,” junior Kamille Spencer explained.
Not only does Spencer believe that only the vandals should be punished for their actions, but she also believes that Wi-Fi should be allowed for students, especially for the ones in vocational or CTE programs.
“I am in a vocational, and I am not able to see if my mom texted me during the day and I couldn’t answer her back if she is picking me up (after school) or not,” added Spencer.
Some students also believe that they need their phones in the event of an emergency as a way to contact their family members.
“I feel like if we were in a situation where we needed to contact people at home and we weren’t allowed to use our phones, that could be a danger to us,” freshman Michael Szostek said.
Only time will tell if the CHS Wi-Fi policy will change, but as for now, students must learn to engage in their surroundings and interact with the people around them.
