Concerns have been expressed to me involving the possibility (alright, probability) of students not being able to attend a meeting advertised as a "Parent Information Meeting". Still, you can try to make a difference. Tell your parents to show up and oppose the cameras. Monday, Dec. 17, 7PM.
EDIT: comment from Student Council Executive President Bennett Stein.
"Yo,
Thanks for all your coverage on the surveillance camera issue.
The "Opinion Poll" that was sent out to teachers today in 3rd hour reads, "Security cameras will be installed in our buildings. The installation timeline is December 26, 2007-January 31, 2008."
THIS IS NOT TRUE. NO DECISION HAS BEEN MADE. The survey is faulty and its results will not mean anything. The decision on the cameras will be made by the school board, not Mr. White, on January 23. As Gold Lion posts, come to the meeting next Monday at 7 pm in the Little Theater. I have been promised there will be time for public commentary. Bring your parents, your friends, bring everyone to be part of this important decision making process.
Students need to stay involved. The Ann Arbor Public Schools Communications Directory, Liz Margolis, ended an interview with Mitch Albom last week, in response to Albom's support of students, saying, "the key point is they're just kids." The schools are saying that?! We need to show the administration and the community that we're not "just kids" and that we are concerned and we need to have a voice in this important decision. Send letters to the school board, Mr. White, the Ann Arbor News, come out to the meeting on Monday, and the school board meetings in the future. The decision makers need to hear from the people most directly affected, students."
Show up. The work done by Pioneer students thus far has been outstanding, with letters appearing almost daily in the paper. But it's not enough until we make a difference, until the idea of cameras is shut down once and for all. . .
4 comments:
No! Students are encouraged to come to the meeting. The Pioneer Students Against Surveillance will invite the student body to the meeting over the announcements on Monday morning.
Also, check this support from the Detroit News-an editorial, http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/OPINION01/712060308/1026/rss06
sorry, that link didn't work. here's the editorial from the December 6 Detroit News,
"Editorial
Go easy in surveilling students
Ann Arbor's school cameras raise Big Brother concerns
The Detroit News
Most of the time, we consider the rights of school children to be limited pretty much to the right to come to class, the right to learn their lessons from a competent teacher and the right to behave themselves.
But the students at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School who are claiming a right to privacy in objecting to the security cameras that cover nearly every inch of public space in the building have a compelling argument.
The Washtenaw County school district installed the cameras in hallways and other common areas as a security measure, joining school districts across the state and country in trying to more closely monitor what goes on inside their buildings.
The student council at Pioneer High School has enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan in fighting the expanded surveillance.
Again, we think it's rare when the ACLU adds to the quality of the educational experience.
But the security cameras make us twitch. ACLU of Michigan Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg correctly expresses concern that saturating public schools with video cameras will condition students "to accept that surveillance is normal."
It isn't normal, and it most often isn't necessary.
School officials say security trumps privacy, but there's no evidence that keeping students under constant watch improves safety.
There may be places in the building where cameras are appropriate -- entranceways, for example. But students shouldn't have to live with the knowledge that their every move is being watched by someone.
We want our children to be safe when they attend school. We also want them to behave appropriately.
But we don't want them to learn to live in a constantly surveilled society where they are nervous about expressing themselves publicly for fear of recrimination. George Orwell wrote a pretty good book about the dangers of that sort of place.
There should be enough adults in school buildings to police the hallways without having to take a Big Brother approach to tracking students."
Thanks. I'll post that as well. Good to see Pioneer is getting some attention.
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