There’s no doubt that using a laptop during class can be a major distraction. In lecture halls filled with hundreds of students, it’s easy to instant-message friends, play games, do homework or other things that don’t pertain to class when you feel you aren’t being watched.

Students who frequently use laptops in class for purposes other than taking notes should realize that it might be distracting to other students and frustrating for professors to teach knowing that some students aren’t listening to a word being said. The responsibility falls on the student to minimize the distraction to others if they are constantly using their laptops. Taking a seat in the back of the room might be a solution.

Even though a laptop can be a distracting device, a campus-wide ban of its use in the classroom wouldn’t be the best way to deal with the problem. That is a decision that should be left up to the professor.

If a student who is using their laptop in class is being disruptive, then professors shouldn’t hesitate to make an example of them. Embarrassing a student in front of 300 people might not be the most pleasant way to resolve the issue, but it might be the most effective solution. If problems persist, it’s most likely not a problem with the computer but the student.

A campus-wide ban on the use of laptops in the classroom would punish students who use their computer to enhance their learning experience, not for in-class entertainment.

Not every student who brings their laptop to class are using it for purposes of slacking off. Sometimes it’s easier to take notes on a computer rather than with pen and paper. Students can also use their laptop to follow PowerPoint presentations posted on ANGEL by the professor, and they’re a handy research tool when professors make a reference to a subject students aren’t familiar with. Some laptops even have a built-in recorder which can be useful in recording lectures.

Using a laptop during class might decrease productivity, but sometimes students need their laptop to get through those two- and three-hour classes that seem to drag on forever. Sleeping through a class is no better than using a the Internet as a pastime but if a campus-wide ban is enacted, professors can count on there being more students sleeping during lectures.

For some students, their laptop is their baby and taking away their laptop privileges would be like kidnapping their child. If professors are confident that when students use their laptops in class it’s with good intentions, they shouldn’t mind students bringing them. Punishing everyone because some people don’t know how to be respectful just isn’t fair.