OHS students give Yondr pouches mixed reviews

Starting this school year, the OISD administration is requiring students to put their phones and electronics in Yondr pouches at the beginning of the school day that can only be unlocked by a magnet at the end of the day. The pouches were distributed during the second week of school and were met with mixed reviews.

“Our existing cell phone policy was ineffective for several reasons,” Dr. Matt Caffey, principal, said. “The pockets in classrooms were unevenly enforced across campus. It created an atmosphere where many students were accustomed to having access all the time. Unfortunately, those unsupervised times are when the most trouble seems to be stirred up among students via text messaging, social media, etc.”

Some students believe the old policy should be kept in place, but that the Yondr pouches have some beneficial effects.

“I think that we could go back to what it used to be like when we would turn our phones in at the start of each class,” Arlette Olvera, sophomore, said. “I think that if a student doesn’t follow the rule of putting them up at the beginning of class they get a warning, and then after that they could discipline the student by making them use the Yondr pouch.”

Other students think that the Yondr pouches have had a positive impact on student life.

“I honestly don’t notice any difference during the school day without my phone, but they do give us a chance to focus on our work and get more comfortable with talking to each other,” Morgan Simmons, junior, said. “I think the Yondr pouches have positively impacted student life by causing students to be comfortable with not relying on their phones all day. More authentic thoughts are being put into student work, and this is allowing students to get a better grasp on the course work.”

One of the issues students and parents have with the pouches is questioning what would happen to students in an emergency situation without their phones.

“I feel like they are a little bit excessive, mostly because it could be dangerous to not be able to have your phone when there is something like an intruder and nobody can call 911,” Wacey Canada, senior, said.

Most students are complying with the new policy, but others say their peers are trying to find ways around the Yondr pouches.

“The students are finding loopholes around the Yondr pouches if they want to use their phones; this proves that Yondr pouches aren’t even fully effective,” Cayson Hope, junior, said. “They negatively impact the students because of the lack of communication with their friends and family.”

Caffey says he has personally seen a positive change in the way students are interacting with each other, and he plans to keep them next year.

“I understand the convenience of students having access and I don’t think less of anyone who has a difference of opinion with me,” Caffey said. “However, the changes we have seen so far and the increased focus in the classroom far outweigh those conveniences.”