A freshman at Walker High has started a petition against the nationwide ban on cell phones in schools.

Proponents of the ban say cell phones distract students in class and cause unnecessary interruptions, but Emma Grace Hodge says the ban, which came into force last month, is unnecessary as students know when not to use their phones. She says her petition calls for phone use during free time, not during lessons.

“All students understand that we are not allowed to take out our cell phones during class because that is our learning time and we don’t want to take that away from them,” she explains.

Hodge thinks it’s unfair that teachers can have their phones but students can’t. Besides, she says, students used to be able to use their phones outside of class time without much of a problem, and she thinks it’s unfair to impose rules on what she thinks is free time.

“During the lunch break, before the start of the new school year, during the lunch break and when changing classes, you were allowed to let off steam because that was free time and you were allowed to do what you wanted,” she says.

There are no exceptions to the ban on cell phones in schools. This means that anyone who needs to contact a student during school hours must do so through the school. Hodge says this creates an unnecessarily complicated system as there is usually a delay between calls coming into the school and students being notified.

“They (the school) take action after they (the parents) call for about five minutes,” she says. “Whereas if you have your phone with you, they (the parents) can reach you more quickly.”

You can find the petition by clicking here. Hodge says she started the petition for her school, hence the Walker-specific title, but she has since expanded the cause – and the petition – to the entire Livingston community.