Hold the phone: Why some Philly students are stashing their phones at corner stores

Cell phones are banned at Kensington High School, so students are paying to stash their phones at corner stores. We break down the case for and against this new phenomenon.

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Employees at Nelvin Grocery hold phones for students free of charge. (Courtesy of Ronnie Polaneczky)

Employees at Nelvin Grocery hold phones for students free of charge. (Courtesy of Ronnie Polaneczky)

At Kensington High School in Philadelphia, cell phones are banned on the premises. Ronnie Polaneczky, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News found out students there were getting around this zero-tolerance policy by paying 50 cents a day to stash their phones at nearby corner stores. That may not seem like a big deal, but in a neighborhood as poor as Kensington, the cost can put a burden on some students and their families. On this episode of The Why, we break down the case for and against this new phenomenon.

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