20 February,2009 06:21 AM IST | | Balaji Narasimhan
Apparently it is possible as a 14-year-old girl found out in Wisconsin recently while texting in class this month
According to a story that appeared in The Smoking Gun, a part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. The reason? She refused to stop texting during her high school math class. The incident happened at the Wauwatosa East High School after she ignored a teacher's demand that she cease texting.
Initially, the girl denied having a phone, but a female cop who frisked her found it. Once the phone was found, she was told to appear in court on 20th April 2009 and also told that if she returned to school on or before 17 February 2009, then she could be arrested for trespassing. Additionally, her bail was set at $298.
Overkill, anyone?
It is perfectly understandable if somebody is arrested in school for carrying a gun, but for crying out loud, is it correct to have somebody arrested for sending an SMS?
Of course, school is school and discipline is discipline. One cannot permit somebody to speak on a cell phone in class, just as one cannot allow students to speak to each other when a class is in session. By the same yardstick, an SMS in a class, strictly speaking, is not correct.
But this said the punishment should fit the crime. Your cell phone can be confiscated and returned to your parents, and if the offence is repeated a certain number of times, you could be expelledu2014but, arrested? That is crossing the line.
Shutter sound
Of course, this is not the first time that cell phones have raised issues related to either etiquette or legal issues. While etiquette issues are a best a minor botheration like the irritation of having somebody sitting next to you on a bus discuss his in-growing toe nails with a friend in a loud voice on his mobile legal issues are serious.
One of the recent issues concerns camera phones. In countries like South Korea and Japan, all camera phones must make a clearly audible sound whenever a picture is taken and the US is also contemplating such a law (called the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act) but these laws are used to ensure that somebody doesn't take hidden photos while pretending to send an SMS.
Drawing the line
While rules relating to etiquette are understandable as are laws pertaining to camera phones to curb voyeurism you have to draw the line somewhere. It is ridiculous to hear about somebody getting arrested for sending an SMS, though this shouldn't be done when one is driving.
But rules and laws need to evolve over a period of time, and prudence and understanding are urged. It would be interesting to see what the judge says when the case concerning the Wisconsin girl comes up for hearing in April.
QUICK TAKE
>>A Wisconsin girl was arrested this month for sending an SMS in school
>>Etiquette rules are fine, but can one really be arrested for an SMS?
>>While something like the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act is fine, we need to draw the line somewhere
