| Phone Ban in Milwaukee Public Schools | | | | Milwaukee Schools Join a Growing Number of School |
| It’s hard to imagine a world without cell phones. | | | | Districts in Banning Cell Phones |
| Next to the Internet it’s probably the single most | | | | Milwaukee public schools are by no means the only |
| important invention that has affected the maximum | | | | school district taking, what some consider, this extreme |
| number of lives around the globe. People run entire | | | | measure. New York and Los Angeles do it too, albeit |
| businesses through their stylish gizmo fitted cell phones | | | | for different reasons. The Columbine shooting in 2001 |
| and it’s normal to find a family with each | | | | and the attacks of September 11 had many schools all |
| member sporting his or her individual phone. | | | | over the country lifting their bans on cell phones as |
| But, students in Milwaukee Public schools won’t | | | | parents expressed their desire to stay in touch with |
| be among those yakking on their cell phones this year. | | | | their children in what they saw as an increasingly |
| The reason – Milwaukee public schools have | | | | dangerous environment around the country. That trend |
| enforced a ban on cell phones on campus. From | | | | has definitely been turned now and more schools are |
| January 2007 onwards, students in | | | | scrambling to enforce similar bans in their schools. |
| Milwaukee’s122 schools are banned from using | | | | Reasons given for these bans in schools around the |
| cellphones in classrooms. | | | | country range from using cell phones for cheating to |
| Fear of Violence Leads to Cell Phone Ban in | | | | taking inappropriate pictures. |
| Milwaukee Public Schools | | | | The issue of whether the ban will have any positive |
| The catalyst that triggered this ban was a brawl | | | | effects on curbing the levels of violence in Milwaukee |
| involving students outside the gates of a Milwaukee | | | | schools is debatable. It seems simplistic to think that |
| school. Female students who got into the fight used | | | | banning cell phones will curb any tendencies to fight. |
| their cell phones to summon help from family | | | | Students who want to fight will do so regardless of |
| members. At least 20 family members turned up and | | | | who they can or can’t summon to their cause. |
| matters got really ugly before the Milwaukee school | | | | It seems more appropriate to beef up security around |
| authorities and police managed to step in. Although | | | | campus to deal with issues of school safety. In these |
| nobody was seriously injured in the brawl, Milwaukee | | | | days of working moms and kids who are forced to be |
| school authorities were stunned into action. This | | | | independent, a cell phone is a powerful tool for |
| wasn’t the first such instance in Milwaukee | | | | communication. To take away this tool might be the |
| schools. Earlier two students had been caught using | | | | equivalent of throwing the baby out with the |
| their cell phones to summon others to a fight outside | | | | bathwater. |
| campus. | | | | |
