March 14 marked the beginning of Hamilton’s new reality as a phone-free campus. Every morning, students must line up to lock their phones in Yondr pouches before entering the school. They remain locked until the end of the day when students exit campus.
This is an enormous shift from the familiar routine of having access to phones, and it’s been receiving mixed reactions.
“It’s a pain in the butt having to lock my phone away every single day, but I guess it’s not too bad because less screen time is healthy,” said AMPA senior Marlena Guaff. However, she shared concerns when it came to safety. “If there was a lockdown or active shooter, I have no way to contact my parents and the lines are ridiculous to get it unlocked.”
Jasmine Jernigan, a senior in AMPA, had her own critiques. “Personally, I don’t mind the Yondr pouch, but in some aspects I do think it’s unjust,” she said. “I think not being able to use our own devices in our free time and on our field trips is wild. The ban of AirPods and other devices is also very extra.”
Other students have been more resistant to this change. An anonymous senior admitted to putting a calculator in their pouch on multiple occasions. “If they catch me, I have a second phone in my backpack.”
An anonymous freshman admitted to unlocking her pouch, sharing that, “The day that they locked them, there was a bunch of people in the bathroom just banging the pouch and they were just flying open.”
Another anonymous freshman shared a similar strategy. “I had the Yondr pouches in middle school and I charged people $1 to break it open, it’s so easy to get out.”
Instances of students resisting the policy has led to the introduction of harsher disciplinary measures. Students caught with their phone multiple times will now risk getting their phone stowed in the office for extended periods of time, ranging from five days to the end of the semester depending on how many strikes a student has received.
Much of the school community, however, is learning to adjust to phoneless school days. This doesn’t mean students are without complaint, though. Humanities senior Cameron Whitehurst critiqued the suddenness of the policy. “They implemented it out of nowhere. If they gave a year’s notice, it’d have a much bigger impact.”
The freshman who previously admitted to unlocking the Yondr pouches shared they believe the school’s first policy was more beneficial. The student is referencing the school’s original plan to give students the pouch unlocked, only locking it once a student is caught with their phone out.
Hamilton is one of many LAUSD schools implementing locked Yondr pouches following the district phone ban. As time passes and student cooperation continues, this reality is expected to benefit our school community in terms of student engagement and performance.
“We’re going to always adhere to district policy and always put students first,” said assistant principal Mr. Ace about the phone ban’s future.
