YOUTH EXPRESSIONS

Should Cell Phones be band from schools in Jamaica

THE NATIONAL SECONDARY STUDENTS’ COUNCILOF JAMAICAPOSITION PAPER PROPORTING: THE BAN ON THE PRESENCE OF CELLULAR PHONES IN SCHOOLSPOLICY TEAM:Roshane O. Miller Jamaica College Eric McDonald Christopher McClymontMunro College Jamaica CollegeAndrene Nelson Richard Lambie Munro College Marcus Garvey TechnicalElton McDuffus Deborah DaleyTitchfield High Hampton School Shannielle Thompson Shauntol Stevenson Titchfield High St. Elizabeth Technical Sherrian Mesquita Tashauna Brown Ocho Rios High Ruseas HighKedron AllenPembroke Hall HighPOSITION PAPER: THE PRESENCE OF CELLULAR PHONES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLSMain Recommendation:There should be a ban placed on the presence of cellular phones in secondary institutions.Background & Evidence Supporting Recommendation:As there are no laws, international treaties, decrees or policies formally governing this area of discourse the organization has written in recognition of and correspondence with recent trends.To begin with a local example we examine the stance of Ester Tyson, principal of Ardenne High School in Kingston, Jamaica. The administrations’ stance is that cellular phones are banned from the school and this stance was affirmed as correct through a most unfortunate incident; two male students were reportedly accosted and robbed of their cellular phones by a group of eight male students from another school. The Jamaican Gleaner published an article dated April 18, 2007 in which it was revealed that both the parents of the students and the administration of the school had met and decided that the aforementioned stance was quite correct. This came after hearing of the grievous bodily harm inflicted to the students; one boy was stabbed in the chest and suffered serious complications while the other was beaten with a hockey stick. It is also important to note that the Principals Association of Jamaica had called for a ban on cellular phone submitting the view that their presence in schools undermines security. Administrators fear that students will use this gadget to call “re-enforcements,” that is individuals from outside or within the compound to help settle disputes. Essentially it aids the gathering of individuals to part take in violent, deviant behaviour. Cellular phones have also been credited to the rise in organized crime in schools, as the main perpetrators no longer need to meet face to face and risk detection in order to conceive plots. This stance has also been echoed by regional officials. In Barbados the Chief Education Officer, Wendy Griffith-Watson, has made the call for the ban of the presence of cellular phones in schools; this sentiment was also shared by the National Parent Teachers’ Association in that country. The Chief Education Officer re-issued a circular dated January 30, 2007; the circular reads: …students are not permitted to bring cell phones, pagers or any other communication devices to school. This circular was first issued on March 5, 2003 with the agreement of the National Parent Teachers’ Association and the Principal Association. It must be noted that individuals, while examining the issues surrounding cellular phones, have suggested that there should be restrictions only on the use of the gadget during class time; the major problem with this idea is the illicit behaviour which is captured and/or circulated by the gadget outside of class time but still on the school compound. In Trinidad and Tobago, according to ZDNet.com, on December 29, 2006 a student of a secondary institution posted a pornographic video entitled, “Road to Success” on the YouTube website i.e. www.youtube.com. This video transmitted evidence of two students having sexual intercourse in a classroom in their school uniform. Following this event the vice-president of the National Parent Teachers' Association, Carlyle Green, said the Association believes there should be a total ban on cellphones in schools. "We are still of the opinion that in almost every school there is a land line and parents can contact their children - and the same facility is available if teachers have to contact parents."The Ministry of Education has heard these words and is now embroiled in a debate to prohibit cellular phones in these institutions. Another Caribbean state which has taken a stand against cellular phones, though in a less more effective way, is Guyana. According to the Guyanese Government Information Agency, the Ministry of Education has issued a circular to all schools’ administrators informing them of the prohibition of cell phone usage during classroom sessions. The ban came into effect on April 21, 2007. This decision is will hopefully guarantee the Ministry meeting its mandate to ensure that all learners benefit from the maximum instructional time allocated for each school day. Though penalties are strict, as an individual may be suspended in the first instance for the minimum of three days if caught using the gadget or a similar tool, students still fall to the cellular phone’s lure. Important to note that problems of violence which were to be stunted by the new rule have continued but now have taken to more secretive route; offenders utilize their gadgets no longer in the open as there is not a ban on the presence but only on its usage. Essentially a policy has been created without the necessary “teeth” to necessitate actual change.On the international stage cellular phones have also become a topic of discourse. The absence of policy has launched some secondary institutions into disrepute as many parents fear for their children’s life when the gadget is present. Some schools have solved their problems all together by banning the gadget putting parents at ease.According to USA Today on January 21, 2002 Adlai E. Stevenson High School in suburban Chicago has no real policy guiding the presence or usage of cellular phones. Students are told that the gadget should not be seen but many students complain of the inequity as it relates to punishment as the rules are relaxed at the digression of administrators. The rules are not generally relaxed as administrators believe that in doing so they are giving credence to the thought that cellular phones have become a necessary unalienable part of everyday life. Due to the disparity in the allocation of punishment for the presence of the gadget and its use students have become riotous in the misadministration of policy on this most important issue. Experts who have examined the issue, including President of Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services, Kenneth Trump, have called for an outright ban to ensure the achievement of the main objectives which are essentially: to guarantee a level of security which would be otherwise compromised by the gadget’s presence, the elimination of a major distraction from the school life of students, whose main concern should be processing and storing lessons taught in class, and essentially diminishing the threat of unhealthy recordings being easily stored and circulated. Trump says, “You're legislating chaos. It's a lot easier just to say, 'Don't bring them,"' Legislation is being improved to curve the problem of the lack of proper lesson retention as well as security in schools. Law makers in Michigan and Indiana are reconsidering laws that ban cell phones and pagers on school campuses, while states such as New Jersey are holding strong to an all out ban of the tool. In December 2001 a New Jersey appellate court upheld the constitutionality of a state law that bans elementary and secondary students from wearing pagers while on school property. In all fairness the article from which the above thesis was constructed also included an argument from a senior high school student advocating for the allowance of cellular phones but the basis upon which the individual built his assertions were fundamentally flawed. The individual comments that he is allowed access to the internet to contact his parents and therefore he does not see the problem with calling them while at school, but this individual must take into consideration the inconvenient truth that permeates the use of gadgets aimed at improving information flow in the twentieth century, generally speaking many devices of this nature are easily abused, there has been numerous predations as it relates to internet stalkers and many instances where the internet has been used to steal and cheat. The individual must examine the dual nature of all creation and then assess the level of responsibility which can be readily handle by the masses and not specific individuals; quintessentially certain items may be used to breach security and as such may cause a state of public emergency. With this in mind could we really ask administrators to handle the uncertainty posed by the presence of cellular phones in our schools? The adverse effects of cellular phones in schools is highlighted when examined against the back drop of health. These are the findings of the study published in Environmental Health Perspectives. The study, based on intensive use of cellular phones, may cause apprehension in Western countries because it reveals new ways in which microwaves can affect our health.Leif Salford, the researcher who led the study that was conducted at Lund University in Sweden, claims that the fact that we voluntarily expose our brain to cell phone radiation is the largest biological experiment in the history of the world. Professor Salford fears that as the wireless technology becomes more popular people will "drown in a sea of microwaves.The study tested the leakage of albumin in the circulation of blood in the brain. Prior studies of the subject have focused on the possibility that cell phones heat brain tissue thereby causing cancer. But the many studies trying to determine whether cell phones cause cancer have not been conclusive.Thus, the cell phone industry in the US has managed to minimize findings regarding cellular radiation effects, but now the World Health Organization has taken over the research."This study proves again that interference with cell activity of the body does not necessarily occur with high exposure to radiation that leads to heating of the area of exposure but can also occur with low exposure" says Professor Rafi Korenstein, a scientist from the University of Tel-Aviv.In a study published by Professor Korenstein with a number of other scientists six months ago (Bioelectromagnetics, 2003), it was proven that long-term exposure to cell phone radiation can affect the duplication of hereditary substance creating during the cell-division process, thereby increasing the risk for cancer.The Head of the Cancer Department at the Israeli Ministry of Health, Dr. Mike Brichna, disagrees: in studies conducted on mice, researchers found changes in brain activity. The problem is to prove that what harms mice brains will cause the same effect in human brains.Quantitative Evidence:The individuals who shy away from this area of discourse do so believing that the issue is of little importance. James Katz, Professor of Communication and Director of Rutgers University's Center for Mobile Communications Studies through his research has found that two billion people on the planet have cellular subscriptions, this is a significant fraction of the earth’s population, and in some countries there are more cellular phones than people. On November 15, 2005 when Professor Katz’s thesis was published on mitcommunication forum it was projected that 66% of people in the United States of America own cellular phones, the following figures were provided, out of a population of approximately 297 million people at least 197 million are cellular phone users. One of the most shocking findings which arose from Professor Katz’s research is that in June 2005 alone the world registered 675 billion call minutes. This shows the level of use this single gadget has registered in a short span of time and to suggest therefore that it is not having an adverse effect on young minds is certainly erroneous. It may be said that cell phones are enabling people to create their own micro-cultures; they are changing cultural norms and values, and demonstrating consumers' ability to modify and repurpose technology for their own use. More devastating evidence produced from the research comes as follows; it is postulated that fifty percent of the students studied used their cellular phones to send text messages during class time and one-third believe it appropriate to play games during sessions. Students have commented that the cellular phone has become a necessity during class time. This is most unusual though as education most times is a collective effort where individuals learn from each others responses but the evidence produced shows that the gadget poses a major distraction which essentially retards the system. Qualitative Evidence:During the discourse under this section the paper will seek to expound upon key points raised under the topic. We will be reviewing case studies and testimonies given to corroborate the stance that cellular phones should not be present in schools.GLOSSARYRadiation which is the potentially dangerous frequency emitted by cellular or mobile phones. High frequency ionizing forms of radiation exists as X-rays, Gamma rays and forms of nuclear radiation known to be hazardous . Non-ionizing radiation of lower frequency ionizing forms such as early cell phones were thought to be safe. That view has changed since cell phones and mobile phones have grown in strength from low-level radio waves to high-level microwaves. No scientific study has proven conclusively that the use of cellular phones is hazardous to human health, yet continued use of higher frequency phones could adversely affect the central nervous system, diminish the effectiveness of the immune system and facilitate the development of cancer according to scientific research. Perhaps this is why governments and health organizations worldwide are spending millions of dollars towards on-going research to determine the long term effects of exposure to E.M.R from cellular and mobile phones. What is S.A.R.? Answer: S.A.R. or Specific Absorption Rate of Radiation is used to measure the amount of radiation that the human body absorbs from any source, including cellular phones. The F.C.C. (Federal Communications Commission) sets limits as to what they deemed were safe levels of radiation from cell phones. In the beginning when analog phones were 800-900 MHZ of power, most of the cell phones manufactured met these safe guidelines. However as manufacturers raised the power of their phones up to 1800-2000MHZ and analog was replaced by digital, the majority of the cell phones now exceed the safe levels set by the F.C.C. In fact the manufacturers continue to lobby to have the levels raised, so they may keep increasing the power of the phones. The highest S. A. R. in the body is in the ear, thus the concern about excessive cell phone use and the strength of the signal.How is S.A.R. measured on a cell phone? Answer: When a call is made or received there is a band of radiation from the antenna, half of which disappears into space. The remaining radiation is around the skull, face and ear area of the user and runs through the circuitry of the phone when transmitting the call. A dummy head is immersed in a gel-like solution similar to body fluid and a cell phone is attached to the ear. Readings are taken from the antenna to determine the S.A.R. strength which will vary from phone to phone and proximity to the closest signal tower.