After long and arduous discussions between the Board of Education, school administrators and students, the security camera fiasco can now be put to rest.
The Board decided against installing new cameras inside of the school, stating that the benefits didn’t outweigh the costs accompanying the implementation. The Board determined that the decision to install was first and foremost a financial decision, and being in the current economic hole that the district is in the rationale seems legitimate. However, the Highlander had difficulty swallowing the Seaholm Administration and the Board of Educations’ unified belief that students had no role in deterring cameras being place inside of the building.
It seems like the Board and Administration has devised a believable cop out for being proven by students that cameras really aren’t necessary in the Seaholm environment and that money should be allocated elsewhere.
Principal Terry Piper was much more unequivocal than Board President Giri Rinschler when dismissing that student interest played a factor in the Board’s decision. Piper firmly stated that he didn’t think students had any role and went on to call the unified student activism against the cameras as a mere “thing” as if it were a fad or something childish.
“It only takes one or two people to make it an issue and suddenly it’s like ‘they’re violating our rights and we’ve got to stand up,’” Piper told The Highlander.
Piper has often championed individual student rights and liberties, and has been one of this paper’s strongest supporters. We can only hope that as a high school administrator it wasn’t his intent to discourage students standing up for something they believe in just because it deviates from personal views.
Regardless of administrators claims, student activism in Seaholm was alive and well during the pinnacle of the Camera discussions, and the administration should praise Seaholm students for being opinionated and staying socially aware.
Cameras aside, the 2008-2009 school year saw students getting involved within the community in a multitude of ways. Through an historical presidential election, Seaholm students became immersed in volunteering for campaigns and politically active nonprofit organizations. Some students even volunteered over 40 hours of their time to assist Seaholm alumni and State representative candidate Evan Treharne in his race for office.
This school year saw an unprecedented interest on part of students towards the world at large. As cliché as it sounds, Change was an intangible yet pervasive ideal that prompted civic virtue, an impetus to act and a sense of community. It’s been a successful year for Seaholm, which enjoyed not just a socially active student body, but had the pleasure of witnessing the first successful alley oop. Not that the two are on the same level, it’s just something so rare it had to make the yearend editorial.
The Highlander staff would like to thank all of the readers for their support and feedback over the year and we hope that we can provide as much quality news and entertainment in 2009-2010. This year we enjoyed covering the achievements and dedication of many students. It’s you, the student body whose hard work and motivation makes the Highlander possible and enjoyable. Again, we’d like to thank all the readers and wish everyone a great summer!
