jrotc and cell phones

[IowaBoy]

alright, so today in jrotc my cell phone slipped out and the person that is "in charge" of me said that if my phone slips out again he would take it away and that i was lucky that one of the instructors was not in the room, because they to would take it away. that being said took and cut my fuse down to 2/3, because in the student hand book it says that number one a teacher MAY NOT take away a student's cell phone (being the same for ipods and such) and number two there is no way another student is going to take anything away from me. right now i really do not want to drop out of this class but i am truly just getting pissed here.

any way, what would my legal rights be here?

[Maverick]

Your legal rights are to do what you're told and not whine about it. Keep your phone to where it won't pop out or better yet keep your phone at home because you don't need a phone while at school.

[IowaBoy]

here is my point though, a phone is a phone, as long as i do not set in class and call people it should it should not be a big freaking deal just because some person wants to make threats to take away an object. if it falls out it falls out.

[ShatteredWings]

I'd like to know what school you're going to that teachers can't take your cell, to be honest. (note: do NOT post or PM details of your school's location... that's not how I meant it)

you're right. It's a phone, and as long as it's off and not causing a distraction you should be allowed to have it on you.

However, not causing a distraction requires it to stay IN your pocket. Consitering how deep most guy's pants pockets are, this really shouldn't be a problem

[TheKingDavis]

wow I want to go to your school! Anyway, I am a Jrotc cadet instructor, I would have done the same thing and then made you do 10 push-ups. thats just me being me. what Jrotc are you in? AF, A, N, M? im in the AF Jrotc. and if i didnt take it up then my butt would have been chewed out for it.

not trying to be a dick lol, just watching out for myself

c/2Lt Davis

[IowaBoy]

here is the policy on phones, copied right out of the book

"Cell phones, I-pods, and other electronic devices are not to be used during class time without the direct permission of a staff member. If these items are used without permission, or if they cause a classroom disruption, students will be referred to the associate principal's office."

now here is how i did not go and break any rules at all:

1. I was not using my cellular phone at all, it slipped out.
2. It was NOT causing a classroom disruption.
3. I did not use the phone while putting it back into my pocket.

as for the branch it is the army one

for the school i go to well, it is the only one in ottumwa, ia (besides alt.)

also, my pant pockets are not deep

[TheKingDavis]

Yeah, our SASI is anal about phones tho, even if i dropped it, he would take it and throw it at a wall

[Sage]

Your legal rights are to do what you're told and not whine about it.

I think we have differing ideas of what a "right" is, Ant.

[ShatteredWings]

as for the branch it is the army one


well that's probably why then. i'll bet if you asked you'd get a responce along the lines of "we're prepainng your for a carrere in the army" blahdiblah stuff like that.

[IowaBoy]

;672888']well that's probably why then. i'll bet if you asked you'd get a responce along the lines of "we're prepainng your for a carrere in the army" blahdiblah stuff like that.

they know i would not even be able to join any branch of the armed forces, to much over weight lmao. only way i would get in is for computer repair and such.

[ShatteredWings]

you could loose weight..

but they still have to hold you to that same standard.

[INFERNO]

here is the policy on phones, copied right out of the book

"Cell phones, I-pods, and other electronic devices are not to be used during class time without the direct permission of a staff member. If these items are used without permission, or if they cause a classroom disruption, students will be referred to the associate principal's office."

now here is how i did not go and break any rules at all:

1. I was not using my cellular phone at all, it slipped out.
2. It was NOT causing a classroom disruption.
3. I did not use the phone while putting it back into my pocket.

as for the branch it is the army one

for the school i go to well, it is the only one in ottumwa, ia (besides alt.)

also, my pant pockets are not deep

Going by this section of the manual you posted and what you said happened, then you should be fine. However, and this is the issue, you're not in charge and so it's beneficial to understand this from the other person's view (I'll call them B just because I don't know what else to call them). If B only sees the phone fall on the ground, then they may think that the likely cause for the phone falling is because you were using it or trying to put it back into your pocket. In other words, they may assume you were doing something you shouldn't have.

Their assumption may be faulty, however, they're not likely to analyze the situation, think of the various possibilities and doddle on a decision because they won't arrive at any conclusion. Instead, they choose the option that seems the most probable, that is most likely to occur and that past experiences tells them does occur, and they assume you are no different because previous experiences weren't different.

I'm not familiar with how jrotc works other than understand the bare basics, so I cant help you with saying whether or not B was allowed in giving the threat or carrying out the threat unless you show me what the manual says.

If it truly does prohibit B from acting on their threat, then most likely, the threat was an empty threat designed to scare you and to remind you not to do it again (recall, B thinks you were doing something inappropriate with the phone). Look at yourself, you were/are annoyed and you're able to vividly recall the situation so in a way, to you the threat was imminent. Many people often use threats that seem reasonable enough in order to have someone else do something or comply. With the ethical, moral and legal issues aside, it can have some success and obviously, it succeeded on you.