Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes UproarBy NAHAL TOOSI, APNEW YORK (May 12) - A ban on cell phones in the nation's biggest school system is creating an uproar among parents and students alike, with teenagers smuggling their phones inside their lunches and under their clothes, and grown-ups insisting they need to stay in touch with their children in case of another crisis like Sept. 11.Parents have written angry letters and e-mails, staged rallies and news conferences, and threatened to sue. Some City Council members are introducing legislation on their behalf.But Mayor Michael Bloomberg and schools Chancellor Joel Klein have staunchly refused to drop the ban. They insist cell phones are a distraction and are used to cheat, take inappropriate photos in bathrooms, and organize gang rendezvous. They are also a top stolen item.Students have refused to give up their phones, saying the devices have become too vital to their daily existence and to their parents' peace of mind."My mother, she needs me to have the cell to call me and check up on me," said Steven Cao, 16, a sophomore who lives in Staten Island and attends Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. He called the ban stupid.Some parents would prefer a policy that lets students have cell phones but prohibits their use in classes.New York's 1.1-million-student school system has banned beepers and other communication devices since the late 1980s. But schools have long used an "out-of-sight, out-of-trouble" approach. Then, late last month, city officials began sending portable metal detectors every day to a random but small set of schools to keep out weapons. And the detectors have led to the confiscation of hundreds of cell phones.New York has one of the country's toughest policies on student cell phones, and also bans other electronic devices such as iPods.Detroit bans cell phones, and a two-time violator will not get the phone back. Boston relied on a school-by-school approach until recently, when it changed the policy to let students have a phone, but only if it is turned off and out of sight. Los Angeles lets kids have cell phones, but they can use them only during lunch and breaks.Kenneth Trump, president of Ohio-based National School Safety and Security Services, said his research indicates most schools ban the phones. Others require students to turn off the devices during school hours.New York principals said the ban is tough to enforce, especially in large schools without metal detectors."Every kid today does carry a cell phone," said Howard Lucks, principal of New Utrecht High in Brooklyn. "The kids keep them in their backpacks, their pockets. As soon as they see an administrator or teacher, they put it away very quickly." Elizabeth Casanola sneaks her cell phone past the metal detectors at her high school by slipping it down her pants, just below the waistband, where she knows she won't be patted down.Even at schools with permanent metal detectors, students find ways to sneak the phones inside. Casanola sometimes smuggles her phone in in pieces, with the battery separate from the main body.Once inside the school, another tactic is to hide the phone in a sandwich roll, according to one principal. Some students leave phones at nearby stores that charge small holding fees.Yen Ramirez, a junior at Manhattan's Washington Irving High, said students need their phones for emergencies. The ban is a problem "because you never know what could happen."Students insist that most classmates use their cell phones responsibly, and they brush off criticism that previous generations got along fine without them."It's kind of ridiculous that we think we can't survive without a cell phone when people did it for thousands of years," said Elisa Muyl, 14, a freshman at Stuyvesant High. "But now that they have this invention, we should use it."</div>
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar Good I find kids using cell phones in school insane.I feel if you have one,it should ONLY be used for an emergency,I hate being in class and seeing kids ruin there future by texting all day.Maybe I'm just against technology but it has kids mesmorized by the time there babies.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar ^If a kid cared about his future, he/she'd know better than to text all day.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar i hardly get a bar of service in my school so whatever, i usually dont text for answers, except in health class. our health class is so ridiculous. you get so much work. you see, im one of those kids. so f*cking smart, but they just dont apply themselves. first term in spanish i didnt get lower than an 86 for a quiz/test grade, yet my final grade was a B because i never do my homework.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar At my school two kids used cellphones to cheat suring a test, and you shuold of heard my principal. I think his words were:"You are the scum of the earth"
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar I don't see the reason in having a cell phone at school. They have school phones. Kids just lose their focus when they have their cell phones at school.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (pistonz4life @ May 14 2006, 09:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I don't see the reason in having a cell phone at school. They have school phones. Kids just lose their focus when they have their cell phones at school.</div>Not true at all. I dont lose my focus because I have a cell in my pocket. I lose my focus because I choose to use it. Kids also need them for after school, if they play sports or do activities and need to hook up a ride home.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar Not a big deal, cell phones were never allowed at my school period, I learned to deal with it. Dumb spolied New York kids
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar I just keep my phone on vibrate, in my pocket, until after school. No big deal to do that?..
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar Well I don't really care about this issue, it probably happened because kids as usual are too stupid to understand why they were allowed to have cell phones in the first place at school. FOR EMERGENCY ONLY, at our college, were allowed cell phones in class, just on vibrate or turned off. That simple. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>At my school two kids used cellphones to cheat suring a test, and you shuold of heard my principal. I think his words were:"You are the scum of the earth"</div> That's pretty funny if they were cheating via texting. Take forever.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar I don't use cell phones to cheat during school. I use it to talk to people a lot of times lol. Also, sometimes in my classes where it is easy to take out a phone, I call people hoping there ringer is on.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar Hey, if those kids want to ruin their future by texting, playing games on their cell phones, etc., that's cool with me. They can have their "fun" now and then pay for it later on in life.Anyways, at my old high school we were allowed to have cell phones, but if it rang during class the teacher would take it up and we wouldn't get it back till the end of the week (or the beginning of the next week depending on what day it was). They didn't care if we used it on school grounds either before or after school, but we were not allowed to use them during school hours. That is the best solution, in my opinion.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar Nobody ruins their future by text messaging...come on...any retard can pass high school.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar christ! I didn't even get a phone til I was 18. Never needed it when I was at school, in fact there were only a couple of kids who had them back then. No need for them that I can see.
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar Now that I have one i've kinda realized i dont need a phone. all i need thing to text message on..
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>christ! I didn't even get a phone til I was 18. Never needed it when I was at school, in fact there were only a couple of kids who had them back then. No need for them that I can see.</div> :worthy: Great answer, seriously these parents who are bitching about this ban should look back at their school time and realize they didn't need/have one either. So what's the difference in children needing them now?
Re: New York's School Cell Phone Ban Causes Uproar <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yankshater213 @ May 14 2006, 08:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>i hardly get a bar of service in my school so whatever, i usually dont text for answers, except in health class. our health class is so ridiculous. you get so much work. you see, im one of those kids. so f*cking smart, but they just dont apply themselves. first term in spanish i didnt get lower than an 86 for a quiz/test grade, yet my final grade was a B because i never do my homework.</div>Haha me too. I find school kind of a joke. It's overrated alot of classes are pretty pointless and drag on for no reason. I myself am not distracted by cell phones, but I have a use for it when I need to be picked up and stuff. I see a lot of girls texting during class though and that's usually the stuck-up and stupid ones, so I don't feel bad, they are screwing theireselves they are just stupid.
