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Going Against Security Cameras

By: Students at IS 49R

Have you ever felt as if someone or something is following you? Or have you ever felt as if you are being watched? Or maybe you felt like someone is breathing down your back 24/7? Well to all you kids in New York City should get used to it because that is how you might feel for the rest of the year. The City Council is thinking about installing security cameras in schools. We feel this is an invasion of personal privacy. This is a real problem for us children, parents, and the staff.

 

 
Our schools on Staten Island and throughout New York are already short of money. By installing security cameras, we will lose all the money we have left. If they were to put cameras all over our school, it would cost $30,000 to $50,000 or more. By installing them, we might lose our special programs. It may not affect all those “bad guys”, but it will affect us.

 
Cameras can also send the wrong message. Someone can get in trouble for a problem or crime they did not commit. For example, a student is walking to a class and approaches the scene of a fight. A whole crowd is pushing and shoving to see what is going on. If the student was trying to push their way through the crowd, the camera and the person watching may think you were in the fight. You might possibly get in trouble for a problem they were not involved in.

 
With cameras in school, kids wouldn’t have any privacy for themselves. Who knows what type of cameras will be placed in schools. Some can be so small that you can’t even see them. They can install any type of camera. They can even install surveillance cameras. Surveillance cameras can monitor everything from bathrooms to restaurants and homes. That will make students feel very uncomfortable to go to the bathroom and halls. With cameras being installed in schools, most of our privacy will be exposed.

 
Yet the installation of security cameras may have negative opinions but on the other hand, it may have positive reasons. Security camera may catch gang members or other crime-causers on tape. They can also catch students doing the wrong thing such as roaming the halls, fighting, doing graffiti, or vandalizing property. Security cameras can also cause people to admit to crimes they caused or were involved in. One solution is to only put them in stairways. Usually, to come into a school you must go up a stairway to get to any of the floors. This is an excellent suggestion.

 
Some people might believe that we shouldn’t have a problem with security cameras. Some say we shouldn’t worry if we are not doing anything wrong. To me they are absolutely right, but I wouldn’t want to be watched by a camera everyday. It is like you are a prisoner in a school. How would you feel if your every step is being taped? If you disagree, then why make New York City students suffer? Remember this, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” In conclusion, as New York City children, we demand No cameras.