Over the summer break of 2024, the Cherry Hill Public School Board has announced a new phone ban. The ban states that no phones are permitted in class or hallways during school hours. However, students are permitted to use phones during lunch and extracurricular activities. The movement seems like a nightmare for phone-addicted teenagers who attend West. So today, we will interview those at the school and explore the effect this new phone ban has had on the students of Cherry Hill West. 

Firstly, we will be asking the teachers, who have been dealing with students over their phone use for years now.

• Mrs. Castellani (Sports Medicine): “Phones are a distraction and they are a terrible learning device for students. They fail to learn anything from them. I am tired of always telling my students to put their phones away during class.” 
• Mrs. Cooper (English, Journalism, Newspaper Club Advisor): “Phones are merely a distraction and I am exhausted from fighting students over their cell phones”. 
• Mr. Field (AP US History, AP US Government, Coach for West Mock Trial): “It’s for the best. Phones aren’t required to help students learn. I think it’s ok.”
• Mr. Tully (Math): “I love this rule. I feel like I can finally teach my students now.”
• Mr. Bova (AP US History, American Legal Systems): “It’s a cultural change. There are times it has helped. It has helped in reduction, but I still feel like I have to yell at some phones. However, some students who need phones for educational purposes are entitled to them. But it is better than the alternative.”
• Ms. Gretz (Gym, Girls Lacrosse Coach): “Phones don’t help kids exercise. It’s a good rule, even if it’s still too early.” 
• Mr. Rogers (AP Psychology): “They don’t help. We don’t need them.”
• Ms. Lee (AP Literature, SAT Review): “Phones don’t help students concentrate on their important work.”

Overall,  the phone ban has been getting a positive reception from a lot of teachers and faculty. They feel students can work and actually concentrate with this new phone ban policy.

Students also weighed in on the issue: 

• Calvin Lymper (Senior, Lion’s Roar Newspaper Editor): “I think it’s a great rule. It’s helped reduce my overall phone usage a lot.”
• Ioannis Kyriakou (Author): “I think it’s an okay policy, because it helps us reduce our phone usage, and keeps us focused on our education.  But I do know there are a lot of students that are divided or opposed to this policy.”
• Adriana Rodriguez (Junior): “ I don’t mind it. I think the decision should be up to the teachers.”
• Shazi Qureshi (Senior): “I think it is kind of unnecessary. When there is no work, people should be allowed to go on their phones.”
• Andrew San (Junior): “It’s alright. But sometimes kids need their phones.”
• Ricardo Shirley (Senior): “It’s good to take a break from phones.”
• Cole Stapleton (Senior): “ I don’t care about the phone aspect, but I love listening to music.”
• Hana Kolenovic (Senior): “Even though it helps, some students need phones to help them do their work.”
• Ilirjana Duka (Senior): “It’s ok. But sometimes, kids need their phones to help them learn, such as with art class, and when we need to look something up for a class, the phone ban prevents us from doing that.”
• Brad Bricker (Senior): “ I think it’s a good rule if it is enforced properly.”
• Bryan Reese (Senior): “It’s not too much different from last year. It’s ok.”
• Andrew San (Junior): “It doesn’t do much. It’s kind of annoying. It doesn’t really change anything.”
• Thomas Quinton (Junior): “I’m kind of annoyed by it. The idea of it was smart, but either way, people use their phones. I never sat on my phone, and if I am doing my work, and if I blank out, can I look at it? I need to look at texts, and I can’t even do that.”
• Viggo Telleria (Senior): “It’s harder to pay attention and focus on work without our phones. I do not like it.”
• Isabella Wagner (Senior): “It–phones are definitely a distraction. It’s doing more damage in the long run. It’s the most important thing in my bag, so it’s not easy when I need to communicate with my parents”.
• Nicholas Zapta (Junior): “I don’t really mind, but in the long-period processes, phones would help make the period go faster.”
• Jason Melroy (Senior): “It’s not too much different from last year. Phones can help students learn in some ways, but I think it’s fine.”
• Erion Duka (Sophomore): “It’s ok. But having the phone distraction makes time go faster.”
• Colin Melroy (Junior): “It’s ok. I think phones are necessary to help students study and learn info.”
• Rex Tajakjy (Junior): “It’s ok. “But phones can help students learn better for research purposes.’’
• Taylor Rosenwald (Senior): “It helps students learn and reduces their technology usage.”
• Eric Chein (Senior): “I don’t think it’s not much good or not much bad. There are minor cons and minors pro. It’s a little annoying, and it doesn’t help that much. They won’t pay attention either.”
• Kayla Hitchens (Sophomore): “At my old school, they were really strict with the phone policy. It’s not too much different here.”
• Ronan Fowler (Junior): “It’s ok. It’s not easy. I don’t find it all that different from previous years. However, I think kids need their phones to learn.”
• Romel Morales (Junior):  “I think it’s not necessary. Students need their phones when they need help with a question in class.”
• Evdokia Kyriakou (Sophomore): “Students need their phones to learn.”

In conclusion, we’ve seen that the phone ban has been getting a positive reception from West teachers and faculty. While some students have noticed the benefits, we have been getting a more divided response. Only time will tell how these opinions will change.