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Mar. 21, 2005 Volume 29, Issue 28 |
Senators support ban on cell phone ‘use’ in class
As the last order of business and following about 20 minutes of discussion at its March meeting, the Robert Holland Faculty Senate overwhelmingly agreed with Senator Walter Diehl about cell phones.
The advisory body approved a change the Biological Sciences professor first had proposed at the November 2004 meeting. By voice votes that indicated none against and one abstention, senators recommended that the university’s Academic Operating Policy 10.08 dealing with classroom regulations be amended to now read:
1. Cell Phones and Electronic Devices in Classrooms: In order to limit classroom disruptions, as well as protect against academic misconduct, the use of cell phones, messaging devices and any other non-authorized electronic devices is prohibited in the classroom.
In submitting the change for full senate consideration and vote, the University Resources Committee that has studied Diehl’s proposal said it is “in agreement that the proliferation of cell phones among students has caused an increased and, in some cases, intolerable amount of disruptions in the classrooms.
“The committee also recognized that technology associated with cell phones, as well as other electronic devices commonly possessed by students, have great potential for academic misconduct,” committee members concluded in their report.
Through news coverage by both on- and off-campus media since the ban first was proposed, the issue has gained considerable attention, even to the national level. As a result, some students and others apparently came to believe the change, if approved, actually would ban the phones themselves from classrooms.
During the discussion period, Diehl, as he has in the past, stressed that his proposal dealt only with “use” of the phones in classrooms, not the electronic devices themselves. He compared it to the university policy dealing with tobacco products.
While cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff, and related substances are not prohibited from being carried to class by students, their use during course sessions is forbidden.
The issue now progresses to the MSU Executive Council, which includes the president and other top institution administrators.
A complete summary of this and other matters at the March meeting is available on the Internet at the senate home page. Also, in time, a University Television Center-developed video replay of the entire meeting will be available for viewing at this site.