Think about it- what is the one thing you love the most that you are most often denied the pleasure of enjoying? What is attached to your person from sun-up to sundown? What is the miracle that allows you to surf the web, talk to friends, and stay updated? Your cell phone is the answer.  And to most of us, it is the answer to just about everything. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to use them even when we are at school?

In this day and age, there seems to be an enlarging gray area obscuring what technology holds academic potential and what technology acts as a distraction. Nationwide, schools are throwing out their textbooks in favor of laptops and iPads designated for research, education, and communication.  In LTHS alone, freshmen, sophomores, and juniors have access to their own personal chromebooks in the hopes that students will have every modern resource at their fingertips.

So, what about cell phones? Aren’t they the same thing? Shouldn’t we be able to use them in school? Well, now we can! As if by some miracle, LTHS administration has decided that beginning this year, students will be able to use cell phones in the cafeteria for personal and educational use.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I am pretty pumped that lunch time is now my  time. I don’t know how many lunch periods I have spent during the last three years wishing I could at least check  my email or listen to my favorite song. So much of our lives are controlled by a little phone- especially things concerning school. I must admit, it’s nice that we can all use our technology to accomplish a few of the tasks in our very busy lives during this time.

While I believe that this new cell phone policy is truly great, I can also see where it could present some problems. Students distracted by phones may not be alert during an emergency. For example, what if there was a code red during a lunch period? Those kids might not hear the announcement that there is danger if have ear buds in. Cell phones might also be annoying to other people who do not like this new policy. However, I still think that being able to use phones during lunch has many more advantages than disadvantages.

Believe me, as a senior who did not receive a chromebook, any bit of internet time I am allowed is precious. Haiku, Google Docs, Moodle, Minds on Physics, all of these programs take time and internet access. So while all the underclassmen are free to complete their electronic homework whenever they get a bit of free time, lunch is the only time we are able to manage our busy course load. For that, I can sincerely thank LTHS administration. It’s good to see that with technological advances, rules and regulations can advance as well.