New year, new rules. The Pace administration took this popular phrase very seriously when it came to the new school year of 2023-24. The introduction of the Yondr pouches is a change most students took as a bluff at first, but much to their dismay, turned into a reality this September.
Yondr pouches are secure bags with a magnetic seal that locks mobile devices from students including Airpods and smart watches, to minimize distractions. Students keep these pouches with them at all times, and the pouches are their responsibility 24/7. Pace’s new Yondr pouch policy requires students, whether upon arrival, during lunch or at dismissal, to line up and get their Yondr pouch closed or opened.
These lines are typically unorganized and can be very long. While the line’s pace is fairly average, there’s no order, making people late to lunch.
Students, administrators and teachers all have different takes on the Yondr pouches.
Principal Glatz said, “I think we use phones even when we don’t even know when we’re using it, whether you’re just scrolling through, or giving a look to check, or things like that; so, it’s not just about the distractions through messaging, or posting, or things like that, but just the idea of having it accessible is something we wanted to try to address.” For him, the pouches are not only used for limiting distractions, but also limiting overall access to the devices.
But for some students, it’s not about the distractions or social media – it’s about the music.
Saul Guzman, a sophomore, said, “Teachers used to let me listen to music, and now, I can’t do that. Instead of listening to music, now I feel like I have to talk with my peers.”
Some students prefer to have music while doing classwork because it improves their level of focus, and keeps them from getting distracted by their classmates.
But, like most things, students are figuring out methods to break the Yondr pouches. When there’s a will, students are going to most definitely find a way. While this system will take a while for our school to adjust, seniors feel like they are the victims of injustice.
Marqkuis Phillip, a senior, said, “I feel like they’re a waste of time because we’re the upperclassmen and we shouldn’t have to follow the same rules that the underclassmen follow. We’ve been here for three years already, and we didn’t have to follow those rules before, so we shouldn’t have to follow them now.
The mixed feelings about the Yondr pouches will prevail, but soon, everyone will be used to them. Eventually, this will be the norm for the rest of the school.
