During my AP US History test today, someone’s phone beeped. If we had a bag or a purse, we were told to set it in the back away from the actual testing area. The phone beeped twice, and everyone who had a bag kept in the vicinity of where the beeps came from were told to stay after so that the proctors could figure out whose phone it was. My purse was one of the ones in the area, so I was one of the ones who had to stay after.
I will admit, and I did admit, that my phone was turned on, which was, in hindsight, not a smart move. But to my credit, the phone (it’s an iPhone) was on both silent and Do Not Disturb mode, and my earbuds were plugged into the headphone jack, so even if I hadn’t had Do Not Disturb mode on, the very least it could have done was vibrate. However, because my phone was on, and because no one would come forward and admit it was their phone, my name, as well as everyone else who had a cell phone that was turned on, is being reported.
After the test, I had one text from my mom and 13 Twitter notifications. The phone beeped twice, not only once, not 13 times. And the sound was not something that would come from my phone. My text alert and ringtone are the default Apple ones.
However, I can’t prove any of this. The proctor told me that I would be contacted sometime this summer for my side of the story either via phone call or e-mail, so you can see the problem there. All I have is my word, but then again, they can’t prove that it was, in fact, my phone, either.
So my question is: am I innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent? Because there is not enough evidence, does this mean everyone who had their phone on will get their score cancelled, or will none of us?