A CHANGE IN DAILY DOSE The newly implemented phone ban on campus has brought a new landscape to daily life at Mater Dei. Phones cannot be seen on campus from the first bell to the last bell. The deans have adopted a new motto ‘no cell bell to bell.’ “The phone ban is pretty effective, I barely see people on their phones,” freshman Braden Monroy said.

The phone ban at Mater Dei has become a monumental new aspect and topic of conversation within student life on campus. With this new regulation, students are not permitted to use their phones from the first to the last bell of the day, unless given permission from a dean or teacher. Student opinion on the new rule is vastly differing ranging from finding it quite problematic to indifference. The school and its administration recognizes the entertainment benefits of phones but feels they inhibit both learning and student interaction when used during the school day. The administration has tried to offset the limitations by adding more exciting activities around the LeVecke Center, such as ping pong, board games, and spirit activities.

Freshman Braden Monroy has very neutral opinions towards this new phone regulation and believes it affects upperclassmen more rather than students in his own grade. In some scenarios, he struggles with communication and lack of entertainment at lunch, but he also states that phones are a distraction in classrooms and act as a barrier to learning as it is another potential distraction when listening and staying on task. 

“Personally, I’ve gotten much of my work done without a phone, but the phone ban helps,” Monroy said. 

This lack of lunch-time communication through text and social media is also a downside of the phone ban. Monroy thinks that being able to communicate with friends online during free time is ingrained into everyday life and should not have been taken away.

“Not being able to communicate with friends and family through social media at lunch is not the best,” Monroy said.

Freshman Maximus Chilleen points out that the phone ban mostly benefits the classroom and has many advantages in this setting. On the other hand, he thinks that students should have access to their cellular devices during lunch. Chilleen feels that when phones are taken away, it gives students a desire to use them even more. In addition, he thinks that seeking out friends at lunch in the crowded Shamrock Plaza and LeVecke Center is more difficult without the ability to call them. 

“In a way, I believe that it has been harder to find friends at lunch because you have to physically find them instead of just being able to call them,” Chillean said.

Assistant Principal of Faculty Services Molly Chase believes that this newly-created rule was  needed to reduce distractions and create a more professional and connected environment for students. Chase has seen improvements in school-wide behavior and collaboration both inside and outside the classroom. Teachers have also reported an increase in student focus throughout class time. Almost all teachers are onboard with the phone ban, and very few teachers have asked students to use their phones specifically for a given lesson. 

“I have heard from other teachers that there has been an improvement in attention spans and many [teachers] are encouraged,” Chase said. 

Chase states that phones are now so integrated into our daily lives, she believes that imposing clearer restrictions will improve students’ academic performance and study habits. 

“[Conflicts] were happening with phones in class and outside of classes,” Chase said. “[We needed to show that] we can exercise that ability, to know when to put them away. We just need to take a stand as a school.” 

Overall, the Monarch community contains an array of perspectives on the use of phones at school and when they should be used. Mater Dei is working to provide a way to use phones as an academic tool in student life, as they become an integral part of today’s society.