As technology develops and phones negatively impact young students worldwide, Northwood has adopted a new policy to help reverse this trend. At the start of 2024-2025, the Northwood Administrative Team implemented a new rule: no phones in the dining hall during mealtimes. The main reason behind this was to get kids to interact with each other more instead of being glued to their phones at important times of the day.
Students on their phones in the living room in the spring of 2024. Photo: Mr. John Spear.
Trevor Gilligan, 03’, who is on the Administration Team as well as the Athletic Director and Head Girls Hockey Coach, believes that this change will turn into a habit and not just a rule amongst students and faculty around campus. “I hope this will be more of a communal time eating together, seeing how everyone’s day is going, getting to know people as opposed to being locked into a device.” He hopes students will begin to get excited about mealtimes as it turns into a place where more communication takes place.
Students are talking about this new development at Northwood, and there has been an adjustment to the environment in the dining hall. Drew Donatello ‘25, is a fifth-year student who has witnessed many changes in the school over the past five years. Playing on the boy’s hockey team means spending most of his mealtime surrounded by his teammates. He says this policy has positively impacted the culture around the tables.
When asked how this has changed the culture compared to his previous four years at Northwood, he said, “I feel no phones in the dining hall has brought a higher level of face-to-face. We’re so attached to our phones these days that it gives you a sigh of relief once you walk into the dining hall to eat a meal knowing everyone is going to be listening, everyone is going to be talking since there is no other choice than to just sit there in silence. Many people just choose to talk and converse now more than ever.”
This new rule initially surprised the community but has proven successful within the first week of school. The new student population also feels strongly about this topic. “It’s been good to take in the new environment and live in the moment. It’s a privilege to be here, enjoy it,” said new senior and hockey player Rylie Griffiths, ‘25.
It seems that the administration team has put in place the best plans to make the school environment better for all students.
