Many students and teachers are currently anticipating the new phone ban LAUSD says it will put in place in January 2025. There have been various conspiracies and rumors of what the plan will look like, but it seems as if most of Hamilton just isn’t sure of how the policy will play out.
Although the district and its teachers have high hopes for the phone ban, it will definitely bring some friction on campuses. Students and staff express both support and opposition to the proposed policy.
There are students who believe that the removal of phone usage during class will help ensure academic success. They believe that it’ll be beneficial to students who want to have meaningful discussions in class, have beneficial study sessions, and generally be able to enjoy school without a screen.
Samantha Garcia, an 11th grade SAS student who agrees with the new policy, stated, “I feel like if you don’t use your phone in class it definitely makes you pass the class immediately, so there’s no need to have your phone.”
Samantha acknowledged, though, that some students would have trouble without a phone.
“A lot of students are against it because they rely [on it],” she claimed. “If something happens in school, they immediately go to social media and start posting about it. So, I feel like a lot of students are against them taking phones, but there’s a majority of the students who also think it’s an alright thing.”
Ms. Iannacone, the animation teacher in room 308, said she agrees with this policy through the perspective of an educator. She said she has tried to let students use their phones only for music, but often ends up having to take away the privilege.
“They can listen to music, but I give them that opportunity,” Ms. Iannacone stated. “But they take advantage of it and they’re just texting all the time.”
Not only will this policy affect students’ experiences in the classroom, but the experience of teachers, as well. Most teachers at Hami all agree on one thing—phone usage in class grows to be too much at times. Some teachers allow their students to be on their phones for certain assignments, like projects, and for listening to music. However, any unauthorized uses of a student’s phone is not wanted during class.
On the other side of the coin, there are students who strongly oppose this new change, claiming that it is unsafe and will not solve the problem of phone usage in class and at school. Taylor Williams, a junior in AMPA, explained, “I think that it is kind of unnecessary thing being that we might need our phones in case of an emergency, because sometimes I’ll be calling my Mama to inform her what happened [through] the day. So I feel like it kinda takes away some form of communication, and some people need to talk to their parents.”
This point made by Taylor is something that most students who oppose this idea think about daily. Sofoniyas Menbere, a senior in the Humanities magnet, has a very similar opinion. “I don’t like it,” he said. “I don’t think kids should put their phones in the pouches because there won’t be a way to contact parents. It won’t really affect me unless something bad happens at the school, but we never know what happened. So it could really affect a lot of students.”
Students who oppose the phone ban policy all agree on one thing: communicating with parents will not be in the equation if phones are banned. This one fact has gotten many students worried: in a drastic event at the school, how will they be able to let their families know that they’re safe from harm? While the benefits of banning phones are quite visible, there is also the looming factor of how dangerous it may be at school if no one has a phone on their person. Communication will be difficult, and the problem will still be present due to the sneakiness and the tricks that some students may use to keep their phones with them.
Currently, every student at Hamilton is waiting to see what’s next, to see the negative and positive impact of the phone ban on Hamilton. The question still looms over all of us, students and teachers alike.
What comes next? What will this new policy do, and how will it help or hurt us?
Most importantly, what will daily life look like for us at school?
Although the phone bans are negatively anticipated by some students at Hami and in LAUSD, the hope that it will benefit most students in their academic and social lives still lives on through many students.
Angel Ventura contributed reporting to this article.
