Since cellphones became commonplace for students in high school to own, debate has raged on about their place in schools.

Before this year, Parkland High School maintained a strict policy regarding cellphone usage in school, prohibiting their use unless specifically sanctioned by a teacher.

However, based on student input and suggestions from the Student Senate and Student Council, the administration is now allowing cellphone use during lunch, on the condition of continued good behavior.

This has prompted significant praise from the student body but also has raised concerns that previously went unnoticed.

Parkland senior Josh Lemburg was pleased to see the increased freedom being granted to students but he also was concerned about how it affected interpersonal relations between students during the limited free time at lunch.

“Although being able to do work and occasionally use my phone during lunch is nice, I always enjoy my conversations with my friends, and I’m seeing a lot more of my friends just using phones and not talking,” Lemburg said.

Students across the school are noticing this trend but most students still view the overall effect of the new policy as overwhelmingly positive.

Senior Nur Bookwala was particularly happy the “administration was actively taking student perspectives into account” when developing new policy, representing the high levels of approval that students now held for their school’s rule.

She also noted students feel less compelled to use their phones during class if they know they can use them during lunch, which was a key objective for teachers and administrators in implementing this policy.

It remains to be seen whether the policy seriously decreases the number of phone confiscations outside the lunchroom and increases student focus for an extended time but currently it seems to be succeeding.

Nevertheless, the future of this policy still resides on the behavior of students during lunch, which has historically been less than ideal.

General cleanliness in the lunchroom and maintaining discipline are two key areas highlighted by Principal James Moniz when he announced the new policy for the first time during Parkland News Network’s morning announcements.

Even if the rule does not stay for long, everyone can gain valuable insight on the interactions between administration, teachers and students from observing how this new policy plays out.

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Editor’s note: Aryaman Khandelwal, a senior, is the high school reporter for the Parkland Press.