Phone policy allows exercise of First Amendment rights

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The right of every student to free speech seems to be a very loose subject given the very nature of school. You’re always subordinate to someone else and there is always some adult breathing down your neck threatening swift punishment if need be, so can a student really stand up against something they don’t like? Well, of course they can; it’s their constitutional right. We don’t check our rights at the door when we enter the school building.

With the recent policies regarding the banning of cell phones, it seems that some students simply stick their phone in their pocket and just deal with it, but some have decided that they won’t let the man tell them when they can and cannot be glued to their phones.

“No phone policies are generally good, but the banning of phones during enrichment is quite lame. Students with GPAs above 3.0 should most certainly have the ability to go on their phones during enrichment,” said Preston Shaver (’21).

To those vociferous and vehement students, I applaud you. You are doing exactly what you should be doing. This country isn’t about sitting around and just dealing with some rules that you secretly hate.

To be fair, this example may seem a little out there, but stick with me. The antiquated British colonists felt it necessary to label King George III a tyrant because of his excessive taxing without representation. And hey, some colonists didn’t exactly agree with this labeling, but they can’t be discredited because, just like you, they have the right to their own opinion. If your opinion of a tyrant is someone who tells you take out your earbud on the way to class when you’re just trying to get a vibe going, then by all means, you are standing against tyranny just like our colonial ancestors.

“I do typically wear headphones in the hallway as a way to calm down before I have to focus for my next class. I’m sure the majority of people will agree with me when I say that this new phone policy is completely appalling,” said Ryan Woods (’21).

Now, there is of course some limitations on how a student can protest. There can’t be any angry mobs geared with pitchforks and torches at the front office, you cannot try to attack someone, and you cannot do anything that is going to disrupt the functioning of the school. I just have a little hunch that throwing certain profanities at a certain special someone, while it is admirable, won’t help anything or anybody. You’ll most likely find yourself suspended if you try that.

Instead of going the radical route, it’s much safer to do the things you’re allowed to. If you don’t have a suspension wish, your means of protest include: handing out flyers, hanging up posters, getting signatures for a petition, and wearing expressive clothing. But on that note, you still have to comply with pre-existing clothing rules. So, if you wear your ‘give me my phone or give me death!’ hoodie, just make sure the hood stays off.

Even if you don’t feel like doing all that extra stuff, then clamoring about each other is fine enough. Complaining about the supposed annoying and treacherous new policies is benevolent as it stirs the pot, spreading your opinion to different students and thus growing the cause further. And given the chance that you are super passionate about your right to use your phone in school, then please, start legally protesting as soon as possible using any method you so desire. It is your constitutional right to do so.