Saftey first at New Jersey school
I am not sure how I feel about the story of Montclaire State University requiring cell phones for students. Not just any cell phone, but a specific one, bought through the school! The article starts out with a narrative lead about Amanda Phillips turning on her GPS in her cell phone while walking to her dorm room at night.
At first I thought cool, what a great idea. However, I think the news buried the main idea toward the end. These phone are mandatory and around $200.00 per semester. If the kid wants a cool I-phone, forget it, the school wants them to have this Sprint phone. The plan has 50 peak minutes (which is pretty weak) and some other features. The main feature is the GPS that students can activate if in trouble or if they are walking alone.
The story also mentions that not everyone on campus has the cell phone. Before I knew that it had a large price tag, I wondered why people would not take advantage, however, know I know. I would still like to know how people are getting by without getting it. If it is mandatory, are the students without it getting punished somehow? I would like to get opinions from the other side. What about the students that think it is ridiculous to have a phone like everyone else and that are being forced to buy one.
The story also said the beeper goes off just a few times a month. So, really, there has been no one saved from using this telephone. Although, maybe it will work one day. I would also like to know if the students think it is unnecessary since there haven’t been any real uses for the emergency feature.
This started well before the Virginia-Tech shootings, which I think is a great idea. So many safety features have come out after the fact when it is too late. I would like to know though, what impacted the school to buy these phones before the massacre occurred? I think the article has major issues with the writing style. The important things are buried and there are a lot of questions that they left unanswered. I actually have read this article in many places. The first one I read did not contain the information that the phones were mandatory. So this article contains the most information for the reader.
