Massachusetts high school denied National Guard help tries cell phone ban next

A Massachusetts high school is implementing a cell phone ban in hopes of curbing student violence, after the governor refused to send in the National Guard.

Brockton High School has become a hot bed of student fighting, and its problems were exacerbated by Chapter 222, a new “fairness” law making school discipline more difficult to administer.

Brockton teachers report being afraid of student violence to the point they won’t even intervene in hallway fights.

“If I’m in a hallway and a fight breaks out, I’m not getting involved,” Cliff Canavan, a Brockton math teacher of over 20 years, told the New York Post. “I’m turning around and walking the other way. Because I’m not going to put myself in a position to get seriously injured again.”

Canavan’s arm was broken last year when he came to the defense of an unconscious student being kicked in the head. 

The New York Post even heard reports of students arranging “fight clubs” for entertainment.  

“Out of boredom the kids are setting up fights between two individuals, and they’re setting up a location for them to fight, and everybody’s going to watch it,” said Jamal Gooding, a Brockton community activist. 

“What happens when you lose the fight and you go to school the next day?” Gooding continued. “That’s when you let your friends come in the back door and get the person that beat you up.” 

The situation has become so dire that four members of the Brockton School Committee requested the National Guard be sent in February to “act as substitute teachers [and] hall monitors to make sure that the high school is safe.”  

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy denied their request, saying it wouldn’t be “appropriate.”  

Instead, the committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to limit cell phone use in school, hoping fewer distractions will lead to fewer fights. 

While cell phone bans in schools haven’t been studied in depth, research has shown a link between cell phone addiction – especially social media use on phones – and increased aggression. 

Brockton students will now be required to keep their phones in sealed pouches during the school day. The district has already purchased several thousand Yondr pouches to help enforce the new policy.