Note that the Ann Arbor News is one of the few places you could have found out about the meeting. Many, myself included, expected it to be postponed because of the snow day, and the Ann Arbor Public Schools website was down for much of the day, a result of the thousands of students checking the website to see if school had been canceled. Apparently, a few students planned to make an announcement yesterday informing students of the meeting; however, we didn't have school, so the announcement was not made. Most of the students I spoke with today had no idea there was such a meeting. Am I supposed to believe that that was an accident on the part of the administration, a mere side effect to letting the meeting go on as planned, when most students wouldn't know about it and the ones who did would think it had been canceled? I guess you can make that judgment for yourself. For now, here are a few of the articles.
Yesterday:
BY DAVID JESSE
The Ann Arbor News
As Pioneer High School administrators tried to make a case for adding security cameras to the Ann Arbor school at a parent information session Monday night, they found a few supporters amongst the doubters.
But a majority of the 50 or so parents, teachers and students who turned out for the meeting remained skeptical about whether the advantages of the cameras outweighed the drawbacks.
Senior William Leaf said he's never seen students as opposed to any measure as they are to this one. They believe there are creative ways to solve security problems without resorting to the cameras, he said.
Senior Charlie Lovell said he supports the cameras. "It makes sense because it's always there," he said, noting that Pioneer is open to the public for many hours beyond the regular school day.
The district has received bids to place 53 cameras at the school at a cost of $80,000. The school board is expected to vote on the bids at its Jan. 23 meeting.
More than 650 students - out of a student body of about 3,000 - have signed a petition asking for the cameras not to be installed. Students opposed to the cameras have cited privacy issues, worries about how the images will be used and concerns that the cameras will teach the students that governmental surveillance is OK.
Principal Michael White told the sometimes combative crowd Monday night that he supports the addition of the cameras.
"The cameras are only a small part of our plan to make Pioneer a safe, secure and welcome environment," he said. "Technology is only one of the aspects."
"From the police department perspective, there is a problem" at Pioneer, he said. "Cameras are just a tool ... It's not the cure-all.
"We're not trying to intrude on anyone's privacy," he said. "We're trying to keep your children as safe as possible."
However, students pointed out that the numbers of thefts and fights so far this school year are down. They said that continuing White's work on creating a new culture at the school is preferable to the cameras.
Marilyn Sherman, who has had children at the school and who didn't send her ninth-grade daughter to Pioneer because of safety issues, likes the idea of adding the cameras.
"I believe the school needs to get all the help it can for safety," she said. "There are major safety issues at this school."
----------------Here's an article about the "community assistants" from yesterday's paper.
Patrolling the halls of Pioneer High
Posted by David Jesse | The Ann Arbor News December 17, 2007 07:02AM
Percy Brown, the lead community assistant at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, monitors a hallway at the school between classes last week."It's hard not to see the point of those parents who want to protect their student's privacy. But this is not about that, it's about their safety. I feel a strong responsibility for protecting these students. In no way are we going to use this to violate their privacy." - Cheryl Haller, a community assistant at Pioneer High, talking about proposed security cameras.
BY DAVID JESSE
The Ann Arbor News
The small figure reflected in a concave mirror hanging high up in the clock tower staircase drew Percy Brown's attention as soon as he walked through the stairwell doors on a recent morning.
There was no good reason for a student to be sitting at the top of the staircase during first hour at Pioneer High School.
Brown, the school's lead community assistant, questioned the student and determined she had come late to school because of the weather and, instead of going to class, had settled into a quiet corner.
After Brown chased her along to class, he called a custodian to haul away two chairs other students had dragged into the stairwell and to paint over some graffiti.
It's a typical morning for Brown, one of 10 community assistants who patrol the halls of Pioneer High School. The assistants make sure students are in class when they should be, escort disruptive students to the principal's office when needed and monitor the overcrowded hallways during passing time in between classes.
In short, they keep their eyes on students.
By the end of next month, they could have help monitoring the 3,000 students who roam the halls, if the school board decides to buy more than 50 electronic surveillance cameras as recommended by high school and district administrators.
The school board had been scheduled to vote on the recommendation last Wednesday night, but that has been delayed until Jan. 23 so that a public meeting can be held on the issue at Pioneer. That meeting will be held at 7 p.m. today.
The plan to install cameras has drawn fire from the American Civil Liberties Union and many students and parents, who complain that the cameras will violate students' privacy and train them to accept governmental surveillance.
However, district administrators and the community assistants say the cameras are a good way to improve safety at the school.
Mixed reviews
Count freshman James Hochrein among those who don't want to see the cameras added.
"I don't think it's a good idea," he said. "It's an invasion of privacy."
Hochrein also said students who want to cause trouble will just move out of range of the cameras.
Community assistant Cheryl Haller disagrees on the privacy point.
"It's hard not to see the point of those parents who want to protect their student's privacy," she said while standing in the hallway in front of Pioneer's gym. "But this is not about that, it's about their safety. I feel a strong responsibility for protecting these students. In no way are we going to use this to violate their privacy."
The plans call for the cameras to be set up in the parking lots and in main hallways, but not in classrooms, locker rooms or restrooms.
"I don't think it's a good idea. It's an invasion of privacy."- Pioneer High freshman James Hochrein, who opposes the installation of security cameras in the school. |
Long-time community assistant and former Pioneer police liaison officer John Devine said the cameras will be helpful.
"If we can see someone going into a locker room not wearing a backpack or carrying something and coming out with one, we can ask them about it," Devine said. "It's not only for the daytime, when students are here, but also for the evening. It's safe here, but this will help us be safer."
Jessica Detering, a freshman, said she feels safe but theft is a problem at the school. She thinks the cameras should only be installed in the parking lots, "not in every corner."
Figures from the Ann Arbor Police Department back up her concern about theft at the school. In a memo to Superintendent Todd Roberts, Jack Foster, who is the school's police liaison officer, said theft is the biggest problem at the school.
In 2006-07, 580 thefts were reported, compared to 500 during 2005-06.
"The most common items of stolen property were: cell phones, ipods, Sony PSP players, money," Foster wrote in the Dec. 11, 2007, memo. Most of the internal school theft reports had no suspect information and no witnesses. The majority of the internal thefts remain unsolved.
"If we were to estimate the dollar amount for the 2006-07 school year and used $100 dollars as the average value per electronic device, the value of the stolen goods would be $58,000, the memo continued.
"Evaluating the data of Pioneer high school is comparative to the crime rate of a small town."
During a recent lunch period, several students said they didn't think the cameras would stop anyone from doing whatever he or she intended to do.
Other students, led by student body president Bennett Stein, say the issue is not just about security vs. invasion of individual students' privacy but also about what message the school will be sending students.
"I want to be safe in my school and I want my fellow students to be safe in my school," Stein said. But, he said, he doesn't want the school to teach students that surveillance by the government is an accepted practice. "We believe it can be done more effectively and without the destruction of the learning environment."
Percy Brown, the lead community assistant at Pioneer High School, monitors a hallway last week.Surveying the scene
About halfway down each hallway on a recent school day, a community assistant either stood or sat. The school's long, straight hallways make it easy to see in each direction. Standing in the intersection of the hallways, a community assistant can see all the way down two hallways at a time.
It's a bit bigger challenge when the crowd of students spills out of classrooms.
That's when the community assistants treat the crowd as a sailor would the ocean. Any change in the wave pattern - either a slowing down or a speeding up - can indicate problems and set off an alarm in a community assistant's head.
On this morning, the hallways were normal: There was chatter about the previous weekend, a few students resigned to slogging their way through another week of school, students clandestinely talking on cell phones and some bumping and shoving as students tried to get through the crowded halls to class.
Brown's role most days is to roam the school. He stops in rest rooms, making sure no one is hiding in stalls.
In the portable classroom wing's men's bathroom, he noticed some new graffiti and called for it to be covered.
He pushed on most of the 200 doors leading to the outdoors, checking to make sure they are locked. He checks entrances to tunnels that run underneath the school, making sure they're secured.
As students pass by during class time, he checks passes and asks students to take their hats and hoods off.
He also cracks jokes with students as they wander down the halls. That's an important part of the job, said his colleague, Cheryl Haller.
"The relationship skills are critical," said Haller. "The cameras are going to help us do our jobs, not replace us."
----------------
The Ann Arbor News is featuring a focus in the opinion section of their online newspaper relating to the cameras. Thanks to Neil Parikh, Duncan Polot, Jesse Fernandez, Sera Bird (even if I don't agree with the argument, it's still good to have enough faith in your argument to express it in a newspaper) and Lauren Tagliaferro for writing in.
Cameras won't improve security
I am a student at Pioneer High School, and I am writing in response to the article "Students, ACLU oppose cameras at Pioneer.'' Superintendent Todd Roberts says that security cameras are necessary to deter theft and harassment at Pioneer High School. Roberts said, "The feedback I've received from the administration, parents and staff has been very positive.'' I don't think that installing 70 security cameras will improve the school's security, and neither does the majority of the student body. I agree with Bennett Stein of the student council when he said, "Security cameras are an easy - but not proven effective - solution.''
Recently, the school board received bids from companies looking to install the security system. Bids reached $80,000, and I think that money could be put to much better use to help the students and staff. Despite the fact that Pioneer needs various repairs, and we've lost a lot of funding, $80,000 is being taken out of our budget to fund the security cameras, while class sizes have increased and budgets cuts have been made around the school. I hope that the school and Superintendent Todd Roberts reconsider their decision to install security cameras in Pioneer.
Neil B. Parikh, Ann Arbor
Money for cameras can be better used
I am a student at Pioneer High School. After reading the recent article about security cameras at Pioneer, some questions and concerns arose. Before reading the article, I was oblivious to the security camera plan. However, it didn't surprise me that the administration had a plan like this. There have been a lot of changes to Pioneer this year and this just seemed like one more.
Nonetheless, I'd be interested to know exactly why Superintendent Todd Roberts thinks that the issues at Pioneer have reached a level that we need to put in cameras. I find it unfair that the plan was never announced to us students.
The reason that the cameras at Huron High School were installed is because parents campaigned for them. The opposite is true at Pioneer. I am also curious as to how the cameras at Huron have worked out. Is the crime rate at Huron actually lower because of the cameras? Until I hear of a significant change in the crime rate, it isn't right to install cameras at Pioneer.
Last of all, I am doubtful of the necessity of the cameras. Principal Michael White's new rules have completely changed the school climate. I don't think that any additional change will help. The price of the cameras will probably end up hurting the school more than it helps. The money can go to a more beneficial cause. All in all, I think that the security cameras are a bad move by the administration.
Duncan L. Polot, Ann Arbor
Cameras would be invasion of privacy
I am a freshman at Pioneer High School, and I believe that having security cameras throughout the school would be a severe invasion of privacy.
The thought of having someone watching me at all times in the hall makes me feel very weird. I believe we should just have different consequences for fights. But not everyone at Pioneer gets into fights, so not all of our privacy should be invaded.
Jesse B. Fernandez, Ann Arbor
Cameras won't invade privacy
I am a freshman at Pioneer High School, and I have read articles about many students opposing the security cameras at Pioneer. I agree with Superintendent Todd Roberts that the security cameras should be installed. I don't see how security cameras installed only in hallways and other public areas can be an invasion of privacy.
Unless you do something bad, you have no reason to be an object of interest on the cameras. Although the cameras will cost a great deal of money, it will be worth the longterm effect. Hopefully, students, once they realize they will most likely be caught for doing something wrong, will discontinue their unsafe and unwise actions. This year, a student's violin case was broken into and the lock was destroyed, so the student's violin is now permanently unlocked. If there was some significant complaint from students at Huron High School, then I would not support the installation of the security cameras.
Sera A. Bird, Ann Arbor
Cameras are not in the best interest
As a Pioneer High School student, I don't support installing security cameras in the school. I believe that the immense amount of money that will be used for installation could be better used for both the students and teachers. I have seen great teachers let go, and using our budget for cameras is not in the best interest of the school. I believe that most school crimes are committed in the restrooms and locker rooms, where cameras cannot be placed. I also know that fighting will continue off school grounds where students can't be caught on tape. Staff members should be in the halls discouraging negative behavior, rather than Ann Arbor Public Schools spending $80,000 dollars to take away students' right to privacy.
Lauren E. Tagliaferro, Ann Arbor
----------------
Here's the notice from the Ann Arbor News about the meeting; judging from the time, it looks like it was actually too late to appear in the actual paper.
The parent meeting to be held at Pioneer High School tonight at 7 p.m. is still scheduled to go on - despite the snow day for Pioneer students, district spokeswoman Liz Margolis said.
The meeting is planned to discuss the addition of more than 50 security cameras to the school.
The cameras have been opposed by the school's Student Council, many other students, parents and the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The meeting will take place in the school's Little Theater.
--------------------And here's the article from today's paper about the meeting last night.
Video monitors defended
As Pioneer High School administrators tried to make a case for adding security cameras to the Ann Arbor school at a parent information session Monday night, they found a few supporters amongst the doubters.
But a majority of the 50 or so parents, teachers and students who turned out for the meeting remained skeptical about whether the advantages of the cameras outweighed the drawbacks.
Senior William Leaf said he's never seen students as opposed to any measure as they are to this one. They believe there are creative ways to solve security problems without resorting to the cameras, he said.
Senior Charlie Lovell said he supports the cameras. "It makes sense because it's always there,'' he said, noting that Pioneer is open to the public for many hours beyond the regular school day.
The district has received bids to place 53 cameras at the school at a cost of $80,000. The school board is expected to vote on the bids at its Jan. 23 meeting.
More than 650 students - out of a student body of about 3,000 - have signed a petition asking for the cameras not to be installed. Students opposed to the cameras have cited privacy issues, worries about how the images will be used and concerns that the cameras will teach the students that governmental surveillance is OK.
Principal Michael White told the sometimes combative crowd Monday night that he supports the addition of the cameras.
"The cameras are only a small part of our plan to make Pioneer a safe, secure and welcome environment,'' he said. "Technology is only one of the aspects.''
Ann Arbor Police Officer Jack Foster, the liaison officer assigned to Pioneer, said the cameras would be useful in investigations into the nearly 600 thefts that occurred last year.
"From the police department perspective, there is a problem'' at Pioneer, he said. "Cameras are just a tool ... It's not the cure-all.
"We're not trying to intrude on anyone's privacy,'' he said. "We're trying to keep your children as safe as possible.''
However, students pointed out that the numbers of thefts and fights so far this school year are down. They said that continuing White's work on creating a new culture at the school is preferable to the cameras.
Marilyn Sherman, who has had children at the school and who didn't send her ninth-grade daughter to Pioneer because of safety issues, likes the idea of adding the cameras.
"I believe the school needs to get all the help it can for safety,'' she said. "There are major safety issues at this school.''
--------------By the way, I'm pretty sure they meant Charlie Cavell, not Lovell. More coming later tonight.
1 comment:
if there are ever fights at school that i see part of, there are always hall monitors, but they don't intervene. i think that the cameras might be useful in bringing people involved to justice for fighting (assult!).
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