Alright, it's looking like I'm just going to do another huge post, sort of like I did after the PTSO meeting on December 17th. . .I had four pages of notes from that night. I have almost six from last night. . .
It was obvious something important was happening before we even got inside the library. A news truck from one of the Detroit stations (2, 4, 7, I don't know) was stationed outside on William Street.
We sat through about six awards for excellence given to teachers before getting to the camera public commentary.
A list of persons in attendance at the meeting:
Michael White, Principal
Kevin Hudson, Class of 2011 Principal
Dr. Robert Kinel, Class of 2009 Principal
Dr. Arthur Williams, Huron High School Principal
Bennett Stein, Student Council Executive President
Officer Jack Foster, Pioneer Police Liaison
Michele Macke, Pioneer Math Teacher
Michael X Benedict, Pioneer Art Teacher
William Leaf, Pioneer Senior
Michael Steinberg, Legal Director, ACLU of Michigan
Joshua Kay, Chairman, ACLU of Washtenaw County
The first thing I noticed was that this meeting was going to be a lot more organized than the PTSO meeting. There would be no Mr. White shouting people down, for one thing, or vice versa.
Let me make this clear right now: One of my biggest problems with the current administration is their lack of respect for the majority of students. Yes, they say they know everyone, they listen to students, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. White doesn't give a damn about what you say unless it'll make him look good in front of the Board of Education (and they're all following him blindly anyway, so it doesn't matter). The administration felt they needed to sneak around the parents and students to deal with this issue; the one vote opposing the cameras last night, from trustee Susan Baskett, pointed out that nothing had changed since the discourse first included the public, and that the camera bid was exactly the same as it had been when it was sent before the first public meeting dealing with it. Nothing has changed, and nothing ever will. They know they don't have to listen to seniors, because we'll be gone in four months anyway. There were two underclassmen, a sophomore and a junior, at the meeting last night. Unless you start to fight for your rights, they'll realize how easy it is to walk all over you. Do not let them.
On that note: parents are starting to band together against Mr. White. They are angry that they've been shut out of this process until now. The best decision, from the standpoint of Mr. White, would have been to postpone the decision. A bunch of parents who are already angry at him banding together is not what he wants right now.
And just a note to teachers and administrators: be careful what sort of BS you're spitting. Because I write it down, and I save my notes. So when I have Mrs. Macke quoted as saying that the cameras won't help to identify people who steal things out of the school after hours (PTSO meeting, December 17), and when I also have her quoted as saying it won't stop fights (Ann Arbor Board of Education Meeting, January 24), and when recent records have proven that most school-day thefts don't happen in hallways anyway, you've painted yourself into a corner. You're extremely lucky that you confused the School Board into giving you these cameras, and you know it.
The meeting entered the Public Commentary phase.
First up was one Ruth Swifler (there will be a number of misspellings in this post because there were a lot of people speaking and I couldn't get spellings for all of them). She stated that surveillance cameras were something that she would expect from a fascist society, and was worried ours might be turning into one.
Next up was Mrs. Macke. She said that the PTSO had been wanting cameras for five years, and then pointed out that they wanted them because Huron had them. Huron's only had them for a year or so (more on Huron and why they need cameras, but we don't, later). I guess that's why they couldn't get them installed before; they couldn't pin it on Huron. How lucky we are to have two high schools that are exactly the same, huh? She also said that she didn't think the cameras would stop fights, because "they're irrational anyways". She also expressed concern for Officer Foster, who has a "huge stack" of theft reports to go through. Well, thankfully, Mr. White has cut that stack by 63%! Let's just run over some facts here. There were 582 "thefts" last year. Upon further examination, 27% of those turned out to be lost items, and only 165 took place in areas where surveillance would be used. So far this year, there have been 106 "thefts,"
fourteen of which took place where surveillance would be used. Mr. White's policies work. Why don't we continue to use them? After all, at the PTSO meeting, he said he'd keep the schools safe with or without cameras. I believe him, do you?
Lou Glory spoke next. She was concerned with the cameras violating the Constitution. "We're pitting security against our constitutional rights and protections," she said. She also pointed out that the rules do not only come into effect when we turn 18 or 21, they apply to everyone. Some kid sitting next to me kept pointing out Tinker vs. Des Moines to support his argument that we have no rights at a public school; problem is, public school students won the right to free speech in that case. Ms. Glory also expressed concern about limiting students, almost caging them: "Are they animals, or are they students?" It was at this point that I first noticed Officer Foster and Mr. White smirking. The Pioneer side provided hours of amusement during the meeting with their antics.
Dave DeVarti, who was also vocal at the PTSO meeting and provided the link about the two girls caught kissing in the hallways by security cameras, said that he wanted the board to balance security with other community values. Mr. DeVarti was the first to bring up the alternate proposal idea. He said that it could be done by June, and urged the board to consider postponing the decision until then. He pointed out that this would gain community trust that the board should be lacking in right now, especially after this decision. In a very interesting development, he reported that during a meeting with Mr. White and Todd Roberts, among others, the previous night, Mr. White had expressed not qualms about putting cameras in classrooms. Because, you know, schools aren't standardized enough; we might as well tell all the teachers to teach the exact same thing, and we might as well monitor them to make sure they are.
Ellen Rabinowitz spoke next; Rabinowitz is a Pioneer parent and has a daughter in eighth grade, whom she said is looking into other schools and is praying she gets into Community. She pointed out that we have no idea how Huron's have worked, as they have not been installed for long enough. "I want my daughter to go to a school where students are trusted and respected."
Lori Bennett followed Mr. DeVarti's lead in telling the board to wait until June to make a decision. She provided a number of alternatives to cameras. She spoke quickly, so I couldn't write them all down, but she included increased peer mediation programs, improved data collection on other schools with cameras, clarifying the school rules for all students, bringing locks into locker rooms, educating students on protecting their property, and installing cameras in parking lots and at entrances. She also proposed involving more people in the decision, including a number of groups associated with the school. She said that school safety expert Ron Astor (who is also a professor at the University of Southern California) was willing to help, and that these discussions should take place before the decision was made by the board.
Mr. Steinberg spoke next. He said that, in his time in the ACLU, he has seen many surveillance programs gone wrong. He spoke of metal detectors, students being held in "holding areas" for two or more hours before being found innocent, and even two schools strip-searching students
unsuccessfully. He made it clear that he understands (and that we all understand) that all Mr. White is trying to do is make the school safer, and that he is doing so with good intentions. But that is always the case. Mr. Steinberg wanted the board to focus on developing solutions that do not violate civil liberties. He also said that viewing a map of the places where cameras would be installed reminded him of a prison map.
Next up was a parent whose full name I did not catch (but I believe it was Mark Zuckerberg?). He pointed out that cameras' preventative ability was in doubt, and reminded the board that Mr. White had stated that he would keep the school safe with or without cameras at the PTSO meeting. "Why haven't we looked at Huron?" he asked the board. "I don't know why all of you don't almost
demand that."
Bennett Stein was the first student to speak. He relayed facts and statistics that I've used earlier in this post. He also questions why "no one has provided on statistic at Huron, or any other school for that matter," in terms of how effective the cameras are in preventing assaults. He also said that there are no open assault cases this year, though there have been two assaults this year at Pioneer-I guess that means they were closed, meaning they identified the perpetrators (probably because Mr. White chased them across a street and through yards and over fences and such). Later, Mr. White said that one assault had taken place during this process (and of course we're all doing this just to annoy him), and so, clearly, we could not waste any more time on the decision. But wait–his own employee said that the cameras wouldn't stop assaults!
Denise Ten Brink, another Pioneer parent, spoke next. She spoke out in favor of the cameras, and said that many people she'd spoken to supported them. It sounded to me, though, like her only reason for being in favor of the cameras was that she felt that she should support the principal and his recommendations, a disturbing trend throughout the meeting. She also said that she didn't want any hall monitors taken out of the hallways. That means we have to buy the cameras AND pay another yearly salary for a hall monitor. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.
The second student of the night to speak was Will Leaf. He said that proponents of the cameras often said they were just looking out for students' safety. "What evidence is there that this will make our schools safer?" he asked the board. "Why is there no burden of proof?" He pointed out that there are many schools with cameras across the country. Why hasn't data been gathered from these schools? Leaf also said that a prospective club at Pioneer, the Pioneer Students Against Surveillance, was rejected on the grounds of opposing the school. Leaf said this just illustrated the way in which students leading the charge against cameras were applauded in public and given conflicting messages in private.
Another Pioneer parent (whose name I did not get) supported the cameras and talked about the Safe School Ambassadors, who apparently have some sort of very important book coming out in April–so important, it's been featured on Katie Couric. You know it's good when Katie Couric figures out that a book that will feed the fears of parents nurtured by a sensationalist media will get her good ratings! Anyway, if the book is coming out in April, let's wait until then, so as to get the full effect of the life-changing research!
Joshua Kay, the chairman of the Washtenaw County ACLU, spoke next. He noted the irony of the "Freedom Shrine" on the wall of the room the Board of Education meets in, "complete with Bill of Rights." I thought he was one of the best and most convincing speakers of the night. "It occurs to me that there's been no evidence of cameras' effectiveness," he told the board. "We've heard no evidence in favor."
Next was a parent named Naomi Walushin, who pointed out that the population of Pioneer would be going down in the coming years with the addition of Skyline High School. She spoke in support of parking lot cameras, so that the community assistants would not have to worry about the parking lot. She did, however, make one great point that has been severely underrepresented in this debate.
If you read one part of this blog, read this. I've heard people use the excuse, "well, when you walk into Target, you're on camera!" Yes, but, you can always not go to Target (not to mention Target is not run by the state). But, as Ms. Walushin pointed out, it is
mandatory for students to attend high school until they are 16 years old. I didn't turn 16 until I was a junior! That's two full years of mandatory surveillance. The school wants to put you under mandatory surveillance. That alone should be enough to kill the bid. Or should have been, at least. Yes, a school is a public place. But it is not a public place in the way a store is. It is a public place we are required to spend at least 11 years of our lives attending.
Michael X Benedict, an art teacher with Pioneer, spoke next, and he considerably lightened the mood. While speaking in support of the cameras, he also thought that $80,000 was quite a lot of money. However, in the art department, he had to constantly worry about things being stolen. However, it seemed like the majority, if not all, of the items that had been stolen from art rooms and display cases were stolen after school. He was sitting next to Mrs. Macke; he should've asked her. She could've told him that the cameras won't stop after-school theft. He also jokingly requested a fake camera, to be placed above his door to deter students from stealing things.
At this point, the public commentary ended. Mr. White and Mr. Hudson left, probably going to gossip in the bathroom or something. Kinel had to retrieve them ten minutes later.
The board then asked one of the writers of the bid (I assume) to speak to the specifics of it. He said that the company they were going to buy the cameras from had given them "great flexibility" in terms of time frame and money. He said they had the price, although no one asked him what it was. If they have such great flexibility, why can't they hold off on making a decision until June?
Trustee Baskett asked Dr. Todd Roberts, superintendent, if anything could be lost by waiting to make a decision on the cameras until June. Dr. Roberts said that he believed any plan for protecting the school would involve cameras, so it was pointless to wait. Wait, if that was the alternate proposal that the parents against the cameras were going to come up with, what was the point of them coming up with one? When asked what the consequences of waiting five months would be, Roberts responded that this has been Pioneer's recommendation for a long time. Baskett made it pretty obvious that the process has only been more inclusive since the bid was already made, but there was no reaction.
Mr. White spoke next, along with his entourage. Doing his best Mark Antony impression, he avoided the facts and made a completely emotional argument. He talked about the one assault that had taken place, and how it painted him to have to tell that mother that her child had been assaulted. Well, the cameras are not going to stop assaults. So what would having a tape change? "Ms. Shelton, I'm terribly sorry your son got his nose broken by another student. Now watch this punch. . ."
Mr. White also said that the time spent solving these crimes could be used educating kids. At this time, he motioned to Kinel and Hudson. These people are
administrators. They do no educating; they sit around and administrate (not as dirty as it sounds)! Watch for another post on this at some later date. But for now, they're not wasting time that could be spent educating. They don't educate.
White was also concerned that of the 582 items stolen last year, 565 were never returned. These must be those special new cameras that can actually grab students and immediately scan them for stolen items.
Mr. White was apparently distraught that, because he attended the meeting the night before, he had missed his son's basketball game. Maybe he should have sent someone with a camera, hmm?
Then Mr. White had Officer Foster come and speak (which was amazing in itself; Officer Foster had been falling asleep the whole night). Foster spoke of the "silent majority," saying a number of students in favor of the cameras just aren't vocal (they are also invisible, because they don't really exist).
Dr. Kinel came up and repeated the line used by many AAPS employees lately. "I see cameras as a tool," he told the board.
Mr. White told everyone that his sons didn't mind them, and they had been exposed to them for seven years. That effectively killed that argument–if kids start being watched in sixth grade, of course they'll think it's normal! That's the point, that kids will start to think of this as normal!
Huron's Principal, Dr. Arthur Williams, was the next to speak for the cameras. Unfortunately for Mr. White (for at least the following ten minutes), Dr. Williams' testimony only illustrated the vast differences between Huron and Pioneer. At Huron, the parent support was "overwhelming." At Pioneer, that is simply not the case. Many parents, including some of considerable clout, do not like the way this issue has been handled, and are opposed to the cameras as it is. Dr. Williams also spoke about the "unique" architecture of Huron; it is comprised mainly of circles, apparently (I wouldn't know, I've never been inside the school). It is constructed in such a way that if they wanted community assistants to have a view of every hallway in the school, they'd have to hire fifty to sixty community assistants. This, too, is different from Pioneer. We need ten. Pioneer is not Huron, and we're tired of being compared to them all the time. Dr. Williams also leaned on the "the world is changing" excuse, which, as an American, I'm getting fairly sick of. If you want to mess with the Constitution, don't just take out little parts. Have some courage and tell people you actually believe that we don't need it anymore. Afraid that people might not like that? Well, then, you don't have any support for your plan. According to Dr. Williams, during the first semester this year, there were 43 items stolen (of which 14 were actually stolen, not lost or otherwise unstolen); during the same period last year, there were 64. This looks impressive, but it's only a 33% drop. Pioneer nearly
doubled that this year,
without cameras. Huron has many genuine problems (such as having the richest kids in the city and the poorest kids in the city in one school). The cameras might even work for them. But Pioneer doesn't need them just because Huron does.
One board member commended both sides for their civility shown during the debates. That conflicts slightly with what I've heard about Mr. White in not-so-public meetings. . .
In the end, all the trustees spoke. Trustee Baskett said it was the hardest vote she's had to make in five years on the School Board. She mentioned that when the School Board was talking about bringing in a police officer, they asked "What's next? Cameras?" Baskett was concerned about security going too far. She also didn't seem to fully believe that the cameras would be effective. "They're not stupid. They're not likely to do it in front of a camera. These actions will move elsewhere." She was also worried about a possible false sense of security resulting from the cameras, and about the possibility that the Huron decrease in crime was just a short-term trend (maybe until kids figure out better ways to steal?). She pointed out that in the case of Laura Dickinson, an EMU student who was murdered in her dorm room, there was security footage but there still isn't a conviction. She also delivered the best line of the night. "If all you have in your toolbox is a hammer, then all your problems start to look like nails."
Board President Karen Cross said that she wasn't sure we could trust the data, and that Huron High School was not a controlled study. Apparently, it didn't worry her that much–she voted for the cameras. Every board member did except Trustee Baskett, to whom I intend to write a letter, thanking her for her stand. I urge you to do the same.
"My question;
Is there still no word on the promised "rewards" of this honor level system?"