We have almost completed a full year with the phone ban, which was put in place to increase social connection, but students say it’s doing the opposite. 

The phone ban was first introduced during Lent last school year, where all phones had to be turned off and in bags. The ban was permanently put in place Aug. 7, the beginning of the 2025-26 school year. 

For this, from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm, your phone must be powered off and in your backpack. If you were seen using a phone, you would be jugged. The only exception is going to the dean’s office and getting permission.

Freshman Scripture teacher Mr. Christopher Agliano believes the ban is a clear success, stating he has “noticed a significant difference in student connection on campus.” He said that before, “it was heavy individual action. It was a focus on the self, and excluded people tended to exclude their presence from others.”

Phone use was isolating, but now connection feels more communal and creative. Mr. Agliano considers the ban a permanent, necessary change for the school.

However, not everyone sees it that way; many students have said they have seen a decrease in phone use but a major increase in computer use. 

Students have gone from being on their phones at lunch and in class to being on their computers. A student remarked that his friend last year would curl up in the Dutch with his phone, and this year he does the same thing but with his computer. 

Students also switched from gaming on phones in class to gaming even more on computers. But Agliano said, “Even if a group of students decide to use technology, like a computer, it seems to be more community-oriented.” Another main point that came across was having no phones during school took away a specific channel of connection for students, for example, electronically talking to people on different sides of campus.

One year into the phone ban, the consensus is split. Some, like Agliano, say they can imagine going back to a world with unrestricted phone use. And others like Jameson Dalley ‘28 said it worked: “Maybe for talking to people during lunch, but other than that I think we should have access like last year.”