2 | April 27, 2011

Opinion The Rambler | www.therambler.org

Phones in class should be student’s choice

torture” is an uncommon oc- class is something that should be Who’s going to pay for the re- There’s another thing our tuition
currence during classes these banned. pairs or replacement? dollars won’t pay for.
Shauna Banks days. We all have free will, and we Does that come out of all the In the end, the decision should
Editor-In-Chief Just this past week, two fel- should be permitted to exercise it. tuition we’ve paid the university? be up to the student.
sbbanks@mail.txwes.edu low classmates came to me and It may not be the responsible Doubtful. If we become so engrossed in
said they’d been told by their choice, but if a student would Second, we’re not all made of texting or updating Facebook that
professor to drop their phones rather respond to an email or text money. the entire class can hear the furi-
in a box on their way into the a friend instead of listening to an Even with all the honorable peo- ous typing, the professor should
classroom. endless lecture, I think he or she ple we have at Wesleyan, having a also have the right to ask us to
Slipping into near unconscious- Say what? should be able to. phone stolen that costs more than leave.
ness from the sheer boredom of I had instant flashbacks to high It’s no different than the stu- $400 a pop is not completely out of Reverting back to silly high
straight lecture or a group presen- school, when the seemingly giant dents who bring laptops and pre- the realm of possibility. school methods is not the answer.
tation gone bad, you start to won- flip phones were all the rage, and tend to take notes, while actually
der what your friends two class- phones were a huge no-no. instant messaging with a friend in
rooms away are doing. Of course, that didn’t stop us another building.
Have they been subjected to the from bringing them to school. There is always someone who is
same fate? As time went by, my teachers busy with their phone or comput-
It’s also been more than 15 minutes accepted that we lived in an era er during a lecture.
since you last checked Facebook. of advancing technology and de- But the choice goes both ways.
Something serious could have cided to just ask students to leave When students are caught up in
happened since then. their phones in a designated box texting, professors should not
Someone could have reached a or area before class started. be expected to repeat things that
new level in Farmville. The difference between then have been missed, and are at full
Someone could be engaged. and now though is—now we’re all liberty to lower a class participa-
Anything! adults; and then, we weren’t pay- tion grade.
Eyeing the professor, you yawn ing thousands of dollars to actu- There are also other more tech-
and casually slip your smartphone ally go to school. nical and legal reasons this phone-
out of the pocket it’s made a dis- Yes, texting in class can definite- in-a-box idea doesn’t seem so well
tinct impression in, and actually ly be distracting at times. crafted for college students in my
think the professor can’t tell you’re Some would also call it disre- eyes.
typing a mile a minute on it as you spectful to whoever’s talking or First, what if after a sea of other
stare down into your own lap… attempting to command attention. phones have been dumped into
Sound familiar? However, having paid so much the box, you drop your brand
I can’t say the urge to text, re- money to actually take these spanking new iPhone into the mix
spond to emails and update my classes, I do not think texting and end up with a cracked screen
Facebook status to “This class is or silently using phones during or giant scuff mark?

Electronic distraction in class

deprives students of education
interesting than others. the beach after you graduate. and board so their child can make ing our students into academic
Sometimes the lecture is I think we all have a better the slightest attempt at getting an vegetables.
Barry Grubbs boring or redundant. chance to leave the college expe- education. It is ironic to say the least.
Opinion editor I do not think that is an ex- rience with a chance to succeed if At most we spend four hours a Instructors at the high school
bgrubbs@mail.txwes.edu cuse to check out and go to we pay attention to the instructors day in the classroom, on average. level as well as those in our col-
our mobile devices for stimu- and put our best work forward. I do not think it is too much to leges are at a tremendous disad-
lation. The people I see complaining ask the average student to sit qui- vantage.
I hear those who say, “We about scoring a 59 on an exam are etly, pretend to be interested and They are outnumbered for one
pay a lot of money to at- the same ones who spend their time possibly learn something without thing, but that is only part of the
What are we really doing here tend college” or “This is not high in class texting under the table and immersing themselves in Face- problem.
at Texas Wesleyan? That is a good school. We are adults.” chatting about the last episode of book, Twitter, email and a host of The whole education experience
question. Honestly, those people are se- whatever random reality show they other mega time-wasting activities. works only if the majority of people
Depending on your perspec- cretly making my point for me. wasted their time watching last Let’s face it—our civilization engaged in it are focused on a good
tive, the answer could vary from If you are concerned about the night. made it to the age of all of these outcome for the student.
getting an education to serving a high cost of your education, make Okay, I am a non-traditional technological wonders because Until students decide to set aside
sentence. an effort to get the most out of it. student. the last generation of students their technological distractions
We are all scheduled to attend There will be plenty of time to All that means is I cannot re- paid attention in class and became and focus on the task at hand in
four to six classes every week on shop for shoes online and post late to the 19-year-old sophomore smart—smart enough to invent the classroom, higher education is
various days, and some are more pictures of your weekend fling at whose parents pay tuition, room the very technology that is turn- going in the wrong direction fast.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR What do you think about

After Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson ap- the results often took decades to be seen
Cell phones in the classroom?
peared on our campus three weeks ago, I (such as his work regarding education).
began to ask questions about what I could Knowing that massive change is not pos-
do to help those in need. sible overnight, America should provide “Its really distracting to whoever is talking, and it’s
Hearing all that Gandhi did made me those in nations such as Ethiopia with a just really disrespectful.”
question what our goals are as far as help- powerful tool that is guaranteed to change - Ashlie Sivley,
ing others, and if a global approach to giv- the status quo, but takes time to take effect: freshman,religion
ing is appropriate.  educational opportunities.
I began to do some research and realized Whether it’s building schools, buying “We’re not in high school anymore. We should be able
despite our economic troubles, America is books or sending teachers, the opportunity to use our phones if we choose to.”
still the most prosperous nation on earth. exists to change the world for the better.  - Taylor Pokluda,
We should use our economic advantage Just attending a speech by a peace activ- senior, exercise science
to help those nations in dire situations.  ist is not enough to make concrete change
The nation of Ethiopia is ranked by the in this world, taking what the speaker said
“I think phones should be allowed in class. If you’re
World Bank as the 11th poorest nation on and acting upon it does.
grown up you should be able to have them.”
earth, yet their struggles and the struggles I challenge myself, and those reading this
- Chris Arocha,
of most third world nations are off Amer- to find a way to give back to your global
junior, exercise science
ica’s radar.  community.
Americans often push global issues to Personally, I am going to use my inspira-
the side; justifying this by stating we can’t tion by Arun Gandhi to provide books for “They are a distraction to the teachers as well as the
solve all the world’s problems. children in Ethiopia, but the opportunities students.”
Those who make such claims are cor- are abundant for us to make a difference.  - Christian Akin,
rect, but America can do more. junior, history
As I listened to Arun Gandhi, I realized Garry Jones
that his grandfather’s fight took years, and “Some people use them for different aspects of class,
like in case you have to look something up.”
Note from the editor: - Daniel Milliman,
Letters to the editor are an important way for readers to provide feedback to the staff at freshman, undecided
The Rambler. Input from our readers is valuable, and we appreciate the submissions we
received this semester. They add our reader’s true perspective to Wesleyan’s newspaper.
“I think it should be up to the professor’s discretion.”
We hope our readers will continue to share their thoughts with us through their letters
- Erin Bethany,
and we look forward to serving the Wesleyan community when we return in the fall. junior, math
Thanks again for helping us to make the Rambler “your voice” on Wesleyan’s campus.

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