Published: March 24, 2010
Op-Ed Contributor
Fake Cameras Installed In Crestwood Middle School Bathrooms
By Robert Paul Reyes
"Principal Stephanie Nance thought she had a creative solution to vandalism in some bathrooms at Crestwood Middle School: She installed fake surveillance cameras to deter would-be graffiti artists.
Parents, who heard about the cameras from their children, complained. They wanted to know why their children's privacy was being intruded upon. What was being taped? Who was watching the footage of the young boys and girls?" Read More
Principal Nance cares more about the school buildings than she does about the psychological well-being of her young charges. A bathroom covered with graffiti is a nuisance, but a child with psychological scars is a tragedy. Being forced to use a restroom with surveillance cameras is enough to give anyone nightmares. It doesn't matter that the cameras were fake; the damage has already been done to the students.
Some of the poor kids were avoiding using the bathrooms until they couldn't hold it in any longer. This is nothing short of psychological abuse, and we must never let it happen again.
The cameras were removed almost immediately after many parents complained. Now the school district should fire Principal Nance, what she did was unacceptable and unforgivable. How would Nance feel if cameras were installed in the restrooms used by teachers and faculty?
The American Civil Liberties Union is considering whether to pursue a lawsuit against the school district. I hope that they will, we are subjected to video surveillance almost everywhere we go, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
Follow Robert Paul Reyes on Twitter: http://twitter.com/robertpaulreyes
Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.
* The views of Opinion writers do not necessarily reflect the views of NewsBlaze
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