Student leaders: new phone policy boosting hallway socialization; TVs ease schedule navigation

Student government co‑presidents Alice Sullivan and Jackson Doyle gave a student report at the Sept. 15 board meeting, highlighting initial reactions to the district’s new phone policy and several student initiatives. Sullivan, identified as an executive co‑president of student government, and Doyle, executive secretary, said the Trojan Kickoff, guest assembly by speaker Donard Mitchell, and new hallway TVs have helped with student navigation under the phone policy. Sullivan said the TVs show the schedule and daily events and have been particularly helpful during passing periods and ‘take 10.’ Students told the board that, while some were unhappy about reduced phone use, many reported more face‑to‑face socialization at lunch and passing periods and increased on‑campus presence during free periods. Student government plans include renting disposable digital cameras so students can capture moments without phones, reviving a boys’ “King of the Court” volleyball event and continuing the powder‑puff girls’ football game on Oct. 17. The student representatives answered questions from board members about how parents have adjusted; Doyle said parents were not reporting major problems because phones are kept in backpacks and remain accessible in emergencies.