Taft High School Principal Mark Grishaber. View Full Caption DNAinfo; Taft High School

NORWOOD PARK — Put away those cell phones, Taft High School students.

Although Principal Mark Grishaber had offered to ease the ban on students using cell phones in the cafeteria during their lunch period, students at the Northwest Side school fell short of meeting the goals school officials laid out.

Grishaber told Taft students Thursday morning that the ban on cell phones would remain in place.

"Students need to understand that privileges are earned," Grishaber said in an interview, adding he expected students to be disappointed. "It is a good life lesson for everyone."

Grishaber offered to ease the ban if at least 1,400 freshmen, sophomores and juniors filled out an online survey Chicago Public Schools officials will use to evaluate schools' athletic programs. In addition, at least 120 seniors had to register to vote for the November election.

Neither goal was met, Grishaber said.

Grishaber, who was an assistant principal at Whitney Young High School before being tapped to take over Taft, said Whitney Young and other top high schools in Chicago are allowed at least some cell phone use.

Because Taft does not allow students to go off campus to eat, many are left with nothing to do for most of the 50-minute lunch period, and a relaxed cell phone policy would have made it easier to prevent "horseplay" in the cafeteria, Grishaber said.

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