Headphones Down; Heads Up

           The start of the new school year has come with the implementation of several new rules, most notably to the dismay of music-obsessed students, the rule banning headphone usage in public. The new rule encourages students to stay off their phones while walking to classes or eating meals, encouraging students to engage with their peers. 

           Emma Walling ’26 agrees that “during class hours [the rule] makes sense while students are actively in a class and participating in group discussion/work.” Although Walling believes that “if a student is not in the 50-minute time slot of a class or is doing an independent assignment, the rule is obnoxious.” Walling feels as though students should still have the option to wear headphones when outside of class. Jillian Retzler ’24 shares a similar perspective to Walling. Retzler believes that “there are times when people want to disengage and not speak to anyone, but through this rule, people can no longer do that.” Retzler believes taking away the option to wear headphones will “cause students to want to wear headphones more since they are not allowed.” Yet the rule has been accepted differently across the campus. Simon Fassberg ’27 shares that “at [his] old school [they] were allowed to be on [their] phones and have [their] headphones [on] at all times besides for class.” The stark change has caused certain struggles for Fassberg, as he’s had to adapt to the new rules, a feeling students across the campus can relate to. Yet Retzler also sees the benefits to the new rule. By “not having headphones in the hallways and around the house” Retzler believes the new rule “allows [for] more communication between students and engagement with their environments.” Without the distraction of music, students are more likely to stop andgreet each other in the hallways and be more talkative around the house.

           Another contentious execution of the rule is for headphone users who have faced retaliation when wearing headphones in the gym. Walling describes that “the gym is a safe place” for many students including her. But unfortunately, many students have felt as though “that safe place has become one…[they] no longer want to go because of the school’s new regulations.” 

Music has become a way for students to combat the high-stress environment that is fostered around                       Lawrenceville; with the new rule in place students must look for another way to de-stress and reset between classes. Students across campus can relate to the frustration felt when teachers tell students to get off their phones and put away their airpods, which can be annoying to Fassberg since “sometimes you just want to chill and watch TV or listen to music.” Walling proposed that students should be allowed to “wear headphones while working out, doing independent work in class, and before the academic class period officially starts.” Retzler agreed, stating that wearing headphones “should be a choice," but should "not be allowed in the classroom." These suggestions are similar to the rules in place last year, but then again, was there really a problem to solve in the first place?