Mr. Campbell Vetoes Cell Phone Motion

In the past week Principal Campbell vetoed the Cell Phone Motion that Council had previously passed. This goes against what Assistant Moderator Jasper Meyer reported to Council on November 15th, when he reported that Principal Campbell was expected to sign the Cell Phone Motion. According to the Council Bylaws, the veto can be overruled by Council with a ⅔ majority vote.

The motion would make it so that teachers could not confiscate phones that are silenced and stowed away in a student’s bag, and so that cell phones may be used in class with the teacher’s permission.

In an email Principal Campbell expressed that the main reason for him vetoing the motion was that the language of the motion was too limiting for teachers. Mr. Campbell wrote in an email, “The language precluding teachers from ever preemptively removing phones is too limiting. There are some limited times when teachers need the ability to take phones.” In addition, the Principal pointed specifically at exams and tests as times where teachers should have the power to take devices and put them in “secure location.” Mr. Campbell also wrote that he believes that teachers should have the ability to to take different courses of action against students who have repeatedly taken out their phones in class. However, despite his veto Principal Campbell says he is still committed to updating Section 8 of the Handbook and that he looks to working with Council to find wording that “works for our community.”