[Clips] Students cry foul over cell phone policy

[R.A. Hettinga]

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  Delivered-To: rah at shipwright.com
  Delivered-To: clips at philodox.com
  Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2006 16:45:50 -0400
  To: Philodox Clips List <clips at philodox.com>
  From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah at shipwright.com>
  Subject: [Clips] Students cry foul over cell phone policy
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<http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=134816&format=text>

  MetroWest Daily News

  Students cry foul over cell phone policy: Teens say officials are
  'overreacting' and violating their privacy

  By Eric Athas/ Daily News Correspondent

  Saturday, July 8, 2006 - Updated: 02:04 PM EST

  FRAMINGHAM -- Fearing their wireless freedom may be in jeopardy, students
  at Framingham High School were fuming over a new school policy that allows
  administrators to seize cell phones and search their contents.

  School searches


  Principals claim right to search cell phones

     The policy, administrators say, is to improve security and stop the
  sale of drugs and stolen goods, but students said that the edict is an
  invasion of privacy.

     "It's not anyone's business what is in students' cell phones," said
  Demitriy Kozlov, who will be a senior in September. "If they think
  someone's dealing a pound of coke or pot, then there is a reason to, but
  that doesn't happen here."

     Kozlov said he believes administrators are overreacting and making the
  school appear more troublesome than it actually is.

     School officials "reserve the right to look through the cell phone,"
  when they suspect a student has drugs or stolen goods, according to
  Principal Michael Welch.

     "People shouldn't get power based on suspicions, people should be
  considered innocent until proven guilty," said senior Adam Goldberg. "It
  feels like our rights are stripped away when we walk through the doors."

     Scott Siegal is a senior at Newton South High School, where Welch was
  principal before going to Framingham, and said there is a major difference
  in Newton South and Framingham's policies.

     "We have an open campus at Newton South, and it seems like (Welch) is
  making things stricter at Framingham," said Siegal, who was a sophomore
  when Welch was the principal at Newton South. "We would never have had a
  policy like this."

     The rule complies with federal law, which says a school can conduct
  searches when there is "reasonable suspicion" that a student has contraband.

     "It's kind of ridiculous," said Dayna Green, who recently graduated
  from Framingham, and is headed to Fitchburg State College in September.
  "They try to make us feel independent, but then they invade our privacy."

     The cell phone policy is not the only change at Framingham: Staff will
  be required to wear identification badges at school. That move is an
  attempt to keep track of people who should not be on school property.

     Green said the policy will only make students feel uncomfortable, and
  will not stop students from breaking the rules.

     "I think it is more of a scare tactic," she said. "Something bad is
  going to happen everywhere."

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  R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
  The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
  44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
  "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
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  experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'