Fed up with students using cellphones in classrooms, Port Hardy Secondary School principal Steve Gray ordered a jamming device from China, but it didn't take long for students to figure out their calls were being blocked by the illegal gizmo.
"On the first day, we thought the Telus tower was down. On the second day, we suspected the jammer. On the third day, we had the protest," said Destiny Herman, a Grade 12 student who organized a demonstration against the device.
"Some teachers said it was the humidity, but my cellphone works in the rain," added Grade 11 student Amber Wright, who helped organize the protest.
About 90 of the school's 343 students skipped classes last Thursday to let Mr. Gray know that the small tin box with four antennae, sitting in the school library, was outlawed under Sections 4 and 9 of Canada's Radiocommunication Act.
"We did our research on the Internet," said Ms. Wright, 17. "Breaking the law is not a good way to send a message."
Last Friday morning, the jammer was retired.
When Mr. Gray ordered the device online - the idea coming from a school parent - he didn't think it was illegal.
"I was looking for a solution to a problem," he said.
That problem started about four years ago when students began using MP3 players in class.
By September 2007, the school, located in the 4,000-person community on the north end of Vancouver Island, banned all electronic devices within classrooms.
If a student brought a cellphone or Ipod to school, they were to leave it in their locker.
But students prefer to keep their cellphones close.
"It's our right to have them," said Ms. Wright, who's had a cellphone since she was 14.
While her parents like to be able to get in touch with her at school, they know not to call during class time.
The school will pass messages to students, either after class or immediately if it's an emergency, Mr. Gray said.
"If you have a hair appointment, we're not going to interrupt the class over that," he said.
But when someone calls the school to reach a student, it's a time-consuming process going through the layers of prompts, said Ms. Herman, 17.
"It's not easy at all," she said.
Ms. Wright prefers to not have the school relay personal messages. And she likes to plan her lunch time or after-school activities via text messaging - outside of class, she insisted.
About 80 per cent of students have cellphones and each day two to three are confiscated by teachers when students are caught using them, usually texting, Mr. Gray said.
"You can imagine, people can text surreptitiously. Teachers are forced to deal with this and it detracts from learning. It's time not spent on-task," he said.
There's also concern that cellphones can help students cheat during exams.
But when Ms. Herman recently wrote an English exam, students were told to place their phones in a pile upon entering the classroom, similar to checking their weapons at the door, she said.
Mr. Gray said that parents have been generally supportive of his attempt to rule the air waves.
What's surprised him is how determined the students have been to keep their cellphones.
When the jammer's plug was pulled, teachers were instructed to strongly enforce the rule banning electronic devices in the classroom.
Previously some teachers had allowed students to use Ipods in class to block out noisy environments and focus on their work, Ms. Herman said.
"Now they're a lot stricter," she said.
The school board paid for the jammer, which cost $115(U.S.) plus $50 for shipping.
"I'm going to hold onto it and hope the regulations follow reality," said Mr. Gray, who carries a cellphone at school, but only uses it for emergencies.
Special to The Globe and Mail
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...l_gam_mostview 
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