It’s the beginning of the semester, and most students are now familiar with the expectations for their classes. But one policy rightfully bothers some students – the laptop rule.

Regulating the way students choose to take notes, whether typing on a laptop or writing by hand, is a divided topic among professors and students. Some students argue that they should have the choice to take notes on their computers, while others say laptops are distracting to peers and that typing notes is too fast to process information. The latter case is fair and justified – students should not have the ability to distract their peers.

Many students prefer to take notes on their laptops instead of with a notebook and pen, and many other professors allow students to decide what technique works best for them. It is true that students should be able to decide how they learn best. We study and complete assignments mostly independently, so in some cases, we should have the freedom to decide how we want to write notes. But actually believing that students are only using laptops to write notes is like turning a blind eye to the distractions of social media and other websites. Professors should ban laptops in class because they are distracting and no more effective for note-taking than writing notes by hand.

Research has found mixed effects of using a laptop in class. Professors who do ban laptops reference research that shows taking notes on laptops is less effective than taking notes by hand. But other studies reveal that there is virtually no learning difference in taking notes by hand versus using a laptop.

While both studies show valid information about the use of laptops in class, all of the research is conducted under the presumption that laptops are solely used for note-taking. The decision to use a laptop is not only about individual learning preferences but is also about how other students are affected. Watching a nearby student using a laptop affects not only the students who use them but also the students sitting around them.

I have been in multiple classes where students have used laptops to switch tabs to social media, computer games and news articles. The back-and-forth between taking notes and browsing Twitter on bright computer screens nearby steals my attention away from the lecture I am supposed to be listening to, which is not fair to me. Students should not be able to distract others simply because they choose not to pay attention to the lecture.

There are some cases to be made for allowing laptops. Students with learning or physical disabilities should continue to have the option to use their laptops to take notes. But learning disabilities are not an issue for the majority of students, so they should not be given the same choice. It might look easier for a student with a learning disability to take notes on a keyboard, but they should always be accommodated for their disability.

For the hour and a half that students are in class, their attention should be on their professor and the material in question. Laptops are an intrusion to that attention for all of the students who surround them. Professors should not allow students to use technology in class to ensure that everyone is paying attention to the front of the classroom.

Shreeya Aranake, a sophomore majoring in history, is an opinions writer.