Whether the news slid into an email inbox, appeared in an outraged text, or wedged its way into good ole’ conversation, the students of Pembroke Hill are all aware of the new phone policy that has befallen our school. According to the July 24th email, the 2024-2025 school year will be phone-free. The framework for enforcement is this: before students arrive at school, their phones must be locked in Yondr pouches, only to be released at the end of the day with a special magnet. For a school whose motto is “Freedom With Responsibility”, this policy seems uncharacteristic to many. In the past, Pembroke Hill has striven to ensure that students have a great deal of autonomy within school hours, refusing to institute uniforms as many private schools do, loosening the dress code, instituting ample unscheduled time, and, until recently, allowing phones outside of class hours. Now, it seems as though the need for a phone-free school has surpassed its own motto. This seeming contradiction, however, is not the most prominent problem with this change. After talking to quite a few students and parents, the grievances lie not in the policy itself, but in the unanswered questions surrounding it. For instance, many wonder if it makes sense to afford the same amount of responsibility to 6th graders as to seniors. One student expressed to me concern that this policy could cause seniors to lose certain time management abilities, which are greatly necessary in college. More than just questions regarding age-appropriateness, others are concerned about common situations in which phones are required. To name just a few, students often need to communicate with parents immediately through text or call, important passwords are frequently stored on phones, many payment methods are possible only on phones, forgetting to unlock the phone pouch at the end of the day could render a student phoneless for over 24 hours, and many apps such as calendar and reminder are only accessible on phones. Needless to say, students and parents have quite a few questions about the practicality of this policy. While there are undoubtedly benefits to creating a phone-free environment, it is important that students and parents feel comfortable with such a drastic change, especially one involving an important line of communication. Before we students hang up our phones, a detailed conversation with the school about this policy’s practicality is vital.