Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not represent the opinion of The Charger or Bullard High School.

Most know there is a new cell phone policy coming to Bullard High School namely, Yondr, a cell phone pouch that students are required to use for all hours of the school day and ban its cell phones completely. The plan that was introduced, starting November 1st, is that all students are required to lock their phones in the Yondr pouches. Seniors with an off-campus pass will be able to unlock their pouches before they leave for lunch. Once Seniors return, phones must be put away again. At the end of the day, there will be “stations” all around campus to unlock the pouches and we will have our phones only to repeat the cycle the next day. Yondr has a history with famous artists like Tyler the Creator and Cardi B. They used Yondr to reduce phone usage at their concerts and promote interactions with their environment. 

The majority of students, including myself, and my parents are not fond of the new policy. The first concern is parents’ lack of communication with their children. There are often occurrences of parents needing to speak with their kids whether it be transportation, appointments, or personal reasons.  Cutting out our communication spawns more inconvenience. When our phones are taken away, parents will have to go through the office only adding to the office’s daily routine. With several parents trying to contact their kids, all at once, will create frustration or parents and slow down productivity in Bullard’s office.

Another issue people have is the way Bullard is handling the situation. Principal Torigian mentioned how he did not want cell phones to be a weapon but instead a tool. This is understandable, but completely removing an aspect of our life without any compromise is cruel. The school has decided to spend 44,000 dollars on pouches that will be lost, mixed up, and most likely destroyed. A more efficient method could be to remove the Wi-Fi or scramble the phone signal, similar to the south and north buildings. This would be more cost-efficient and better to slowly ease students into a no cell phone campus instead of dropping us into the deep end. It will allow parents to adjust and students to adapt and revert from our lockdown days, and Mr. Torigian will get what he is trying to achieve.

Playing devil’s advocate, Mr. Torigian’s heart is in the right place. Most people may agree that people have become less social and more addicted to their phones. But you shouldn’t punish the entire school for a minority that doesn’t have self-control. At the end of the day, the new cell phone policy is coming to Bullard with full force. Hopefully, everyone gets to a point where they are happy.