Marist administrators implemented the new ‘Off and Away’ phone policy this year. It is effective on campus during school hours with the goal to improve student attention and class participation.

The policy is enforced from 8:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. This includes all lunch periods and passing periods.

“[Students] were more prone to distraction, and I feel this year, students are more invested in what’s going on because they don’t have that distracting device at their fingertips,” said broadcasting and journalism teacher Susan Carlson.

Soon Marist won’t be the only school to have a similar policy. The Illinois State Senate recently approved a bill mandating that school districts ban wireless devices during class time by the 2026-27 school year.

“It’s not to say that Marist is a tougher school by instituting this tough policy,” says Carlson. “Next year every school will be doing the same thing. We are just getting our students used to it early.”

Not all students are pleased with this. Many students wish the restrictions were less severe.

“I think there should be some limitations to phone usage, because people can use their phones to cheat on work, but not every student is like that,” says freshmen student Evangeline Malfas.

Many students hope that the policy could be lifted, or at least lessened, to allow partial phone usage during the day.

“I’d make the phone policy less harsh, and allow students to use their phones at least in the halls and the lunchroom,” says Malfas.