The cell phone policy’s perceived hardships are spreading to issues further than what was originally expected. The Jagshack, which is one of the most consistent and utilized places within dTHS, is now slower for the cashiers and the line as a whole due to the new system in place. Students have lost the ability to make efficient payments with their hand-held devices, and now must go online to put money in their student IDs to make payments.
Tap-to-pay with a phone has become the norm for many high school students, a PYMNT report found a 23% increase in mobile wallet use in stores since 2022 amongst Gen Z. The removal of this payment method that is quick and convenient for teenagers with decreasing attention spans is a recipe for sales to fall.
However this was not the case. Leslie Cox, head of the JagShack said, “the sales from the Jagshack were the same as last year.” She said the biggest problem that stemmed from the phone ban was “the added inconvenience for parent-volunteers who have to learn a whole new system.”
Parent-volunteer at the Jagshack, Debbie Bromberg, said “the [Jagshack] line is longer and less efficient now because we now have to learn to use the new system” Thankfully for the students, this is not a problem for them, Cox said, “The experience is the same for students, they just have to tap their ID like they did with their phone.”
However, the long line is a problem for days where there is a school-wide assembly. Bromberg said, “[dTHS] told us to not serve students before the [assemblies].” Meaning there is only a short window after the grade-level meetings where students can get food.
Adding on to this issue, she noted, “sometimes the line runs into class time,” which is a problem for students and teachers. But this issue has existed before the phone ban, and is just slightly exacerbated for now.
As the volunteers get more familiar with this new way of payment, Cox said “it will be just as efficient as phones one day.”
She also thinks this short period of time with just a little longer of lines is a worthy sacrifice of the phone ban. “At first I thought students should be able to use their phones, but after I looked into it more, I saw how the phone ban benefits students.” Cox said.
The vending machines neighboring the Jagshack are no longer able to be used during school unless a student uses cash or a physical credit card, which is uncommon. Cox said, “the sales from the vending machines also haven’t changed at all.” She attributed this to the bulk of the purchases for the vending machines coming from dTHS students after school, when phones are allowed and the Jagshack is closed, as well as members of the JCC who use the facilities after school.
Hopefully, dTHS will continue to observe and make phone-free campus as positive an experience for students and faculty as they have with the new Jagshack payment system.
