Yondr Pouches Coming to Mills High School

Amelia Naughten Staff writEr

There is an epidemic spreading at Mills– and no, it isn’t COVID-19 this time. Everywhere one looks in Mills, students are consumed by it. This is occurring inside and outside of classrooms, and is infamous for spreading within large groups of students sitting together, displaying the same disquieting behavior. This is not new to the Mills community, and the culprit is never farther than an arm’s reach away. To no surprise, the villain here is unfortunately our beloved smartphones.

For several years at Mills, students’ obsession with their phones has been progressively worsening as technology advances. To combat this, many teachers have transformed calculator holders into phone holders which students store their phones when in class. However, this solution has been far from perfect as it fails to resolve the problem of excessive phone use outside of the classroom that prevents students from socializing and taking advantage of the “high school experience”. In a recent SMUHSD board meeting, the administration has decided that in the best interest of students and their academic pursuits, the optimal solution to this problem is instating in infamous Yondr phone pouches.

The pouches work by sealing your phone in a magnetically locked fabric bag that you carry with you throughout the day, but that can only be opened once in contact with the magnetic key. In the school district, these magnetic keys will be handled by trusted teachers and staff members who will unlock student phones at the end of the last class of each day.

Students and staff have been divided over this decision. Opposing the new policy, Elaine Chan (10) exclaimed, “The day this school installs Yondr phone pouches is the day I drop out!”

On the other hand, some staff eagerly await the approach of this fateful day. Mr. Lira, who leads three classes in the social science department, has always been an avid supporter of phone restrictions. His radical phone pocket system where students have to put their phones in wall pouches in order to ensure attendance has only been a placeholder in the greater scheme of Yondr phone pouches: “Phone pouches work the best because without them, students might record some of my bad jokes or when I get moody and post it on social media…and I’ll get canceled!”

On top of this, the administration’s plan for Yondr phone pouches touches on other significant issues pertaining to phone usage, one of the most notable issues being student health and wellness. For several months ongoing, wellness counselors at Mills have been complaining of new influxes of students describing finger pains and eye strains from using phones for extended periods of time.

Moreover, a popular rumor that phones have radioactive qualities that may increase cancer risk, although unproven, has raised concerns in the health of Mills students and staff. Not only that, but some staff (who wish to remain anonymous) go as far as to claim that sourced data set presented in the district documents, students charging their personal devices at school accounts for almost 10% of all energy consumed. By preventing students from charging their phones during the day, the district forecasts that energy conservation efforts will be dramatically furthered. Administrators also predict that the school wifi will run 50% faster after the mass of devices have been disabled, a detail that appeared to garner the support of staff and students alike.

As a last addition, administrators also hope that the Yondr pouches will promote a sense of community among Mills students. The documents cite how many students nowadays lack communication skills attending students and teachers had the chance to share their thoughts and questions for the implementation of Yondr pouches.

Julia Xia (10) asked, “What if there’s an emergency I need to attend to?” An administrator was prompt to respond to this concern, explaining that all students had to do to regain access to their phone for emergencies was to “walk to the office where you can request to fill out an emergency form in which you enter your email, password, student ID, and explain your intentions in a brief paragraph, to which will be promptly reviewed and granted access.”

At the same time, he still questioned the effectiveness of the pouches based on his expertise in phone restrictions. “This still doesn’t stop students from exchanging their real phone for a fake,” Mr. Lira brought up in a meeting. Administrators simply shrugged.

Another teacher, Mr. DeBois, although always maintaining a neutral stance on restricting phones in the classroom, expressed, “I don’t really mind, but I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be able to make snarky comments at students who use their phone in my class anymore.” they have a hunch that the “energy vibes in the classroom are affected by radio waves emitted from student phones in use”, a phenomenon which has only been amplified as more students begin to own personal devices. Teachers also feel that removing the blaring red “This is a cell phone-free space” sign from their walls will relieve their “stress about the aesthetic appearance of the classroom.”

Another major focus at Mills is energy conservation, and administrators believe that Yondr pouches will help them attain their goal. According to another anonymously and the ability to emotionally connect with others without emojis or the filter of texting. They hope that by removing the most popular form of communication from students, that they will be able to generate a greater sense of connectivity at Mills. Administrators even forecast a future for the integration of Yondr pouches at Mills, in which the Yondr pouch will become accepted as a uniting fashion statement among Mills students.

While these factors may seem idealistic, Mills students wary of this new policy raise valid concerns. In a SMUHSD open zoom meeting,

This question being thoroughly responded to, Noor Abdullah (11) jumped into the conversation, inquiring, “What if I need to use phone apps or tools for class?” This time, a new administrator stepped up to the microphone to address the audience. She opened by saying, “Nowadays we rely too much on our apps and phones,” earning some unsettled shifting in seats and diverted glances from parents and staff, no doubt feeling personally attacked. However she quickly redeemed this statement by clarifying, “As young people, it’s important that Mills students learn how to use manual equipment. As we transition to Yondr pouches, Mills will be providing dictionaries and planners to every student as well as adding a new realism unit in art to replace the use of cameras.” Parents and staff were impressed with the administration’s insightful responses to the questions.

Soon to come later in the Spring Semester, Mills students can be expecting the incorporation of Yondr pouches into the Mills community, working to benefit the students in more ways than we can count. Staff look forward to seeing their students’ faces light up inside and outside of class– and this time not just because of the light emitted from their phones.