Good Morning Sonmi-451!

Recently, and issue has arisen in Texas not unlike something out of a Harry Potter book. (At least that’s what I think).  An article in the Austin American Statesman describes how school districts in San Antonio and Austin are now using tracking devices either embedded in student ID cards or in the form of handheld devices to keep track of daily attendance in school. Paul Webber of the Statesman writes that these measures let “administrators track the whereabouts of 4,200 students with GPS-like precision.” With the click of a mouse, students appear as “moving red dots” around a map of the school, not unlike J.K. Rowling’s “Marauder’s Map” in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

There is more than one way this issue can be spun. How does it relate to government, you ask? Webber goes on to explain that for every student accounted for, the school and school districts receive more funding. (About $30 per student).This is especially important in the light of drastic school budget cuts that happened in 2011. It can also be looked at from a safety standpoint, used as a quick way to account for everyone in the case of an emergency. Others, including experts in the field of psychology and technology, have raised concerns that the new monitoring system is an invasion of privacy, which sends the wrong message about society to kids. As the technology becomes used in more and more schools, it is likely that the number of concerns will grow as well.

The thing that stands out most for me when learning about this issue is the clash between Texas ideals and political beliefs, and the driving economic force (MONEY).  At least from what I’ve learned, Texas’s background and political identity has been strongly centered on personal liberty and personal freedom. It seems to me that technology like this is irreconcilable with Texas’s fundamental beliefs. Does money trump ideology these days? While those who approve of this monitoring system insist that it is NOT used for surveillance, I think the issue lies more with the principle of the thing. Just for argument’s sake, what if we put tracking devices on everyone who carried a gun in Texas? Well, it’s not surveillance, it’s just keeping track of them! I’d be willing to bet that Texans would raise hell over that. I may be overstating it, but these student monitoring systems seem almost like a “gateway drug” into a scary world of full time surveillance (if we’re not already there). Since this whole system is still in its relative infancy, (at least in San Antonio and Austin) it will be interesting to see how it unfolds and what kind of reactions follow.  

Classmate Commentary: Where's Your Sense of Civic Duty?!

Amanda Thompson’s editorial, “Getting Arrested for Skipping Jury Duty” brings up something we often don’t think about: our own civic duty! In clear, concise language, she describes how one district judge in Texas recently proposed that jury duty ought to be enforced by deputies making house calls to the summoned and either bringing them to court or bringing them to jail! Amanda does a great job of examining both the pros and cons of this proposal: on the one hand, it might “whip” the population into shape by making an example of people. However, she also notes that on the other hand it might be seen a waste of tax payer’s dollars. She clearly addresses how the issue could be perceived in two totally different ways. 

Amanda then goes on to give her own opinion, specifically that sending law officers to people’s houses to enforce jury duty is a good idea. “It might take a week of hard work to accomplish the task” she writes, but the precedent that jury duty is an important obligation would quickly be reestablished. She also takes care to address the opposing viewpoint, that change can be slow. I think it’s great that she takes a clear stance on the issue and makes her opinion known. Personally, I think that a tax break might be a better incentive, but of course, our hope is that people fulfill their civic duty without needing any incentive, negative or positive. 

I fully agree with Amanda’s statement, that “there used to be so much more respect for the system.” More and more, jury duty is brushed off as unimportant, when in fact it is incredibly essential to our judicial system. We often forget that our Bill of Rights mandates that we have the right to a “trial by jury” and to an “impartial jury in the state and district where the crime was committed.”  People fought and died for these rights! It’s right up there with our civic obligation to vote! I think her commentary examines an important, often overlooked issue.