THE
PROSPECTOR
801 WEST KENSINGTON ROAD, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS 60056
THE VOICE OF PROSPECT HIGH SCHOOL SINCE 1959
VOLUME 59, ISSUE 1 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2019
Snap Decisions
Unannounced recording proves concerning for teachers, students Grace Givan Editor-in-Chief *name changed for confidentiality ccording to an anonymous survey of 202 Prospect students, 60% of students have recorded somebody without their permission and 42% of students have done that in school. In order to combat these numbers, the Teacher’s Union recommended teachers to encourage their students to keep their phones in their backpacks instead of on their desks. According to Tim Mcdermott,
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an English teacher and building representative for the Teacher’s Union, this is, in part, to prevent students from filming teachers and each other without their permission, which could elicit negative consequences. “Some kids just don’t know [not to record],” Principal Greg Minter said. “They don’t know that that’s not OK or that it’s illegal. [Bringing it up with the Teacher’s Union was] just [starting] a conversation about it.”
Illinois is a dual-consent state, meaning that, when recording a private conversation, both speakers must give their permission. In a public setting — such as in a classroom — recording is legal, but, according to Mcdermott, filming others without their permission can have negative consequences on teachers and students, especially if taken out of context. Senior Serena Polk* experienced this last December, and, while there were no serious consequences, she felt “disturbed” to have been filmed without her knowledge. She was going over her notes in study hall to prepare for an in-class essay the next period, and the study hall teacher took a Snapchat of her and sent it to the teacher she had next period. When she arrived in her next period class, the teacher showed Polk the Snapchat in a joking manner — a picture of Polk looking stressed with a caption that poked fun at her about it. While Polk believes that there was no malicious intent in this situation, she felt that the teachers were exploiting her stress for personal enjoyment. Like Mcdermott, she emphasizes the importance of context and the relationship between the filmer and the subject. “[Being filmed] made me feel a little disrespected and ... violated,” Polk said. “It’s like if you found out that someone was gossiping about you; it makes you feel like, ‘woah, when did that happen?’ or ‘how did I not notice this?’” Polk stated that her reaction would have been different if the same situation was recreated with a close friend, but, given that she was not very close with the teacher, this felt like an inva-
55% Of students keep their phones
Outside
of their backpacks
during class *according to an anonymous survey of 202 prospect students
Syllabus Security Tim Mcdermott, an English teacher and building representative for the Teacher’s Union, has proposed that all teachers include something in their syllabi that control technology use in their classes. His current syllabus contains as follows: “RECORDING ANYONE (TEACHER OR STUDENT) IN CLASS without that person’s knowledge is strictly forbidden unless directed by the instructor as part of a lesson. Any violation of these expectations will result in a discipline referral, a phone call home/parent conference, and possible legal action.”
sion of her privacy. “It was very privatized [because] it was only between two people. So it didn’t really have many negative implications, but I just felt bad,” Polk said. “But when it happens on a larger scale ... people could view you in a different way and it could affect your life just based on the scale.” Polk believes that the destination of the recording is a factor in the gravity of its consequences, which is generally uncontrollable by the subject of a video. As a preventative measure to situations similar to this, Mcdermott doesn’t allow iPads and phones out unless he explicitly says otherwise. He even put it on his syllabus (see “Syllabus Security”), and he has encouraged other teachers to do the same. In Mcdermott’s classroom, he says that having to tell students to put technology away is a daily problem. According to Mcdermott, other building representatives in the Education Association talk about this issue often. In fact, a D214 school has hung up posters that prohibit the use of recording devices in some areas of the school in response to this issue. “On social media, you guys don’t realize how much trouble this can cause,” McDermott said. “You may think ‘oh, this is just a friend; it’s funny.’ But it can actually lead to some pretty dangerous stuff. Things get misconstrued; it can ruin friendships.” Specifically, Mcdermott points to a WPTV News story from 2015 where a Florida student recorded a teacher who she thought was bullying another student; however, when the recording got out, the student who recorded her actually got in trouble. In this situation, the school administrators said that the teacher had an “expectation of privacy” which deemed the recording illegal according to FOX31 News. Mcdermott also points out the fact that sometimes teachers are set up — such as students egging them on and talking back — and then their retaliations are recorded. “Students think they’re only joking around [and recording others] and [think] ‘this is going to be funny, let’s capture the teacher in a very animated situation,’” Mcdermott said. “But taken out of context, people can interpret it in many different ways, and the teacher can end up getting in trouble.” Social Studies teacher Brad Rathe also emphasizes that there is a specific context when it is appropriate to record things. In contrast to Mcdermott, Rathe has created a more relaxed environment regarding technology as he
You see something funny on the internet and think ‘oh, somebody recorded that.’ So I feel like it’s apart of your mindset now [to record others] and kind of an instinct.” - Anonymous senior occasionally ducks his head into Snapchat pictures and allows students to record his lectures. However, this does not mean that students are allowed to use technology freely. Rathe would find it “shady” if a student recorded the beginning of class, as he likes to begin class by talking to individual students about their days; he would also find it suspicious if a student was trying to secretly record something. “[It becomes an issue] if you’re trying to catch an individual doing something and trying to make it public instead of doing it for academic means,” Rathe said. With this issue gaining attention, the question of why people feel the need to film others is raised. Mcdermott uses a hypothetical situation of someone recording a fight as an example: “Your generation has an inclination to immediately think: ‘I’m going to take my phone out and video record this so I can post this, because this is going to be cool and I’m going to get a lot of likes,’” Mcdermott said. “[This is] instead of the moral obligation of ‘wait a minute, these kids are pummeling the snot out of each other somebody’s going to get hurt; maybe I should stop this.’” Polk also believes that this is a generational tendency is because of students’ proximity to technology and how integrated it is into society. She suspects that it is a natural impulse that accompanies social media culture. “You see something funny on the internet and think ‘oh, somebody recorded that.’ So I feel like it’s apart of your mindset now [to record others] and kind of an instinct,” Polk said. Mcdermott sees technology’s connection to culture as both a way of escaping reality and “FOMO,” which stands for fear of missing out. This dependence on technology ingrains filming and recording into our interactions. However, Polk believes that there are ways to counteract the actions that result from this mindset. “Be conscious of what you do,” Polk said. “If you’re recording somebody, [think about] if this was popular on the internet and you saw yourself [in their shoes]. … You need to consider the implications and effect that it can have on their personal life, because it can gravely affect them in a negative way. You need to respect people’s privacy.”