I’m a current student enrolled in the Tamalpais Union High School District, whose only had a phone for a year now, but I understand how integrated phones have become when it comes to communication, especially in emergencies. I’m also someone who fights for what’s best for this community, and this new phone policy is not. At Archie Williams, we get bomb threats and school shooting threats each year like clockwork, and it’s all been just baseless threats so far, but each time it’s getting more and more clear that it might happen for real one day, and what’ll happen then? We have had bullet casings found in the hallways, as well as people have threatened that do have access to weaponry, so I raise you this, what will happen when students aren’t able to get a hold of their parents and vice versa? Not to mention medical and mental emergencies, which we have helplines for, but without a phone that’s easily accessible, the situation can escalate and be worse for the one going through it. I won’t bore you with the details, but they are below if you need them to make a choice. All I ask of you is to do the right thing for the safety of the school and community, thank you.

         Recently the Tamalpais Union Highschool District passed the new phone policy where the schools will use Nukase. Nukase is a lockbox that is meant to keep your phone out of use for the entirety of the school day, including during breaks such as lunch. While you are able to carry this box on your person as a student, you are unable to unlock it without a staff member present. The exception to this are the ones with medical conditions, such as diabetes, that require access to said device. However, they still have to have the Nukase just another version: Medical Nukase. They’d have a key to unlock it on their person, and would be able to unlock it if needed; however, the key itself gets jammed easily, rendering the Nukase useless. Furthermore, in the event of a medical emergency, most people are loopy/nauseous and unable to think straight. Most likely, one who is in this state would not be able to think clearly enough to unlock the case and actually get to what they need before it escalates. 

        This new policy also came with a hidden transfer of responsibility in the fine print. The student hand book was updated and stated the following: “Students who leave campus for lunch, will not have access to their smart phones and parents expressly understand that neither the school district nor any officer or any employee thereof shall be liable for the conduct or safety of any pupil during such time as the pupil left campus without their smart phone.” The reason of which people go to get lunch off campus in the first place is for one of two reasons: 1) They don’t have food at home to pack for school & 2) The lunch at the school is ransacked or not fitting to people’s dietary restrictions. Punishing the student by ridding of all responsibility of the school to keep the students safe, because of the schools own policies and errors, is pure negligence.

       Furthermore, in safety measures and procedures that are taught to the students in the district, we are told to “never assume someone has already called the police. Call them yourself.” How would one be able to do that if not near someone with a key to unlock the Nukase? They would have to break the box, but that would either alert the threat, or could damage the phone, or any other device, to the point that contacting people is out of the question. Not to mention, hard tempered plastic is hard to break, especially in a small time frame where every second matters. Putting both the person and the others left at the school at risk. Additionally, for the argument that in the 60’s people didn't have phones and they were fine, since the 60-80’s there has been a major increase in both active school shootings and just threats. While it is true that Marin County is one of the safest in the country, that standard is not created by comparing it to a county with zero crime. Furthermore, that title does not mean that criminal offenses or even misdemeanors are impossible within the county. Having these communication pathways blocked would not do anyone any good.

       Saying all this, I do not mean to deny the fact that there are harmful sides to phones, especially when actively used in the classrooms. I am well aware of the harm that, even during personal hours, phones can and do have on peoples mental health. I myself have faced it, and I’m sure many others have as well. My stance on this is simply that as a community we should fully understand the risks of removing phones from bell to bell, and that it can do more harm mentally and also harm to academics if students can’t have it at all. That’s why I suggest that we as a community should ask the district to go back to the original policy where people would put them away in pockets in the classroom. Not to say the pockets don’t have any flaws either; however, the Nukase faces the same flaws, and has more risk. Something that has this many drawbacks should not be implemented in schools, and the $100,000 that was spent on it should’ve been directed to helping build up the community within the school, not tear it apart.

      Finally, due to all these reasons, and the fact that anonymous tip forums and things like the suicide hotline would be inaccessible during school hours, even though there has been a rise in teen suicides, I ask of you to sign this petition to get rid of Nukase and go back to where we had pockets on the wall. When it was easy to reach for your phone without obstruction in case of emergency. When if something were to happen people would be able to report it without delay to get any details fresh from their mind, in the most critical of moments. Thank you again.