More and more FHS students are taking advantage of the convenience of wireless technologies. Students feel the that negative perceptions surrounding the use of pagers are outdated and outweighed by the convenience of pagers and cellular phones. “I don’t think that the image that people with pagers are drug pushers or pimps is true,” said senior Luke Davison. “It’s just another means of communication. More and more people are using them because it makes it convenient to get in touch with people.” The FHS administration has a different view about students with pagers or cellular phones in school. “I don’t think that students should have beepers, phones in school,” said vice-principal Peter Fusaro. “If students have an emergency, they can be contacted through the office. Beepers and cell-phones will be one of the policies that the administration will examine for next year.” “It’s a distraction,” said math teacher Larry Kaber. “I don’t see any reason why it would be necessary for someone to have one (a pager) in class. “I don’t really see any need to have one,” said administrative assistant Dan English. “I certainly wouldn’t want my children to have the image associated with a beeper.” Even some students who own pagers or cellular phones agree with the administration that there isn’t any place for such devices in school. “There’s no point in having one at school,” said junior Dave Konshur, who owns a pager. “I only use mine at night and after school.” “Cellular phones are a real distraction to teachers,” said senior Tony Eacker. “Mine has gone off in class before. I’m getting rid of it as soon as my contract expires.” Some pager users still maintain that they are not a distraction and can actually be very useful if used discreetly. “My pager has a silent ring so no one knows that it’s ringing,” said Davison. “My parents page me at school, and I call them during lunch or my free period. It’s less of a distraction than having someone from the office disrupt the class with a message.” |
