After the Department of Education denied Principal Stanley Teitel’s request for metal detectors to scan students for cellphones during finals week, he had to find other ways to discourage cheating.

Teitel announced the repercussions of having cell phones during finals week over the loudspeaker the week of Monday, January 19. He said that students caught with the prohibited devices would not be allowed to complete their examinations, receive zeros on that day’s finals, and possibly fail their courses.

“The administration is simply trying to eliminate cheating,” Teitel said.

Senior Anna Zhang received a text message that read “Good luck on your finals,” during her Multivariate Calculus final on Tuesday, January 27.

Teitel and Assistant Principal Organization Randi Damasek escorted Zhang into the math office, called her parents, and gave her a zero on the exam.

“I got into so much trouble just because my phone rang,” Zhang said. “I wasn’t cheating or anything, so it’s really upsetting.”

Some students think that the cell phone policy is justified. “It’s fair. We were all forewarned about the consequences,” freshman Natalie Kuang said. “Although, I do believe that the punishment itself is excessive.”

Despite these efforts to curb cheating, the sophomore world history exam was stolen and passed out among students. The administration found out and changed the exam in time for the students to take it.

While the administration enforced stricter anti-cheating policies on this year’s final exams, the results were not entirely successful.