Articles, Videos, and Fun Tidbits!

The Senior Experience

Emma French

The interviews and narration script for this podcast were put together before New York Schools were shut down for the rest of the year. It was written partially as a way to inform people of seniors' experiences and partially as a way for me to express my personal feelings on the matter in a productive way. At the time, there was little information concerning what the end of the year would look like for seniors. We were scared to miss out on memorable experiences; scared about leaving with no goodbye. Now, the school administration and senior parents have been adamant about providing seniors with a graduation we are certain to remember as well as other events centered around seniors seeing each other. The feelings of grief, loss, and hurt have since passed and been replaced with hope for what the next couple of weeks have in store. We all had a hard realization that was difficult to overcome, but I believe we did it with maturity. Most of all, I hope what I said resonates with seniors and other students and speaks truth to what they went through.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1noZcyWHNeBRTGA5iptmekk7fu-qEkeGy/view?usp=sharing

Alleged Mishandling of Confidential Information Causes Outrage

New Years Eve party busted. Community troubled by the purported compromised privacy of minors.

Lily Plague, Molly Pickering, and Emma French

Minutes before the dawning of 2020, Potsdam police officers received an anonymous tip which led them to an under-aged drinking party involving Potsdam Central School students. The party was busted, names were taken, a police report was written, and no charges were filed.

Once school officials were made aware of the incident via phone call from a community member according to Mark Wilson, Dean of Students, the Extra Curricular Code of Conduct was implemented. However, it has become evident that the unease of some parents, as summed up by Deborah Dudley, was justified, “The school officials broke the rules so that they could punish students for breaking the rules.”

The germane portion of the code, agreed to by both student athletes and their parents, states, “When a violation of the code is public knowledge, particularly when law enforcement has been involved, the student may receive appropriate consequences per this policy.”

Punishments for athletes and those participating in clubs were doled out to those involved in accordance with this code: 45 days of club suspension and six games/meets out of sports.

This punishment was applied to every known student at the party, not just those drinking, as simply being present at the party violated the Code of Conduct. “Attendance at a social function/event where there is alcohol use by minors or where controlled substances are being used unlawfully by anyone. Students who find themselves unwittingly at such a function are to absent themselves from the event.”

Concerns arose, however, after parents claimed they weren’t aware of this extracurricular policy and questioned how the school obtained both the police report and a list of names. On January 14, 2020, many concerns were aired by parents at a tense Board of Education meeting.

“The school disregarded the legal protections of minors when they accessed the names of our children,” said Dudley, “and despite the objection of the police officials, the school used the information to justify the investigation to deliberate a guilty verdict for every kid.”

Gail Anderson, also a parent, agreed.

“I also found it very disturbing in regards to the improper method used in this investigation of a party where there were several students not drinking, in violation of privacy laws for minors that were not followed by the administration.”

When asked about the school’s investigation of the incident, specifically how administration obtained the report and list of names, Wilson explained the process followed by the school.

“I asked law enforcement if there was a party, which we already knew that there was, and asked them to provide the report,” he said. Wilson added that the report is not necessarily private even though it involved minors.

“The police report itself can be FOILed* at any point,” he said. “What people were referring to was the list of names. The list of names was what should’ve been kept private. But the police report itself is able to be public knowledge.

“So, we didn’t know we shouldn’t have gotten it [the list of names]. Obviously, we don’t look to do things we shouldn’t be doing. So, the list of names, technically it shouldn’t have been provided to us. We understand that now.”

In the end, Wilson stated, “We had the list and we used the list.”

Correcting Wilson’s statement about the sharing of information between police and the school district, Potsdam Police Dept. Lt. Michael Ames explained, “Police reports are not public knowledge when they involve minors and cannot be FOILed at any point,” said Lt. Ames. “Under the Freedom of Information Law, nothing to do with minors is sharable . . . We can share information within the government or law enforcement spectrum under the Freedom of Information Law. We’re operating outside of that, but if anybody asks anything about anyone else, it’s limited, what they can receive.”

Lt. Ames mentioned there is a way for the school to access information under the Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act.

“[The school] could reach out to us under the SAVE Act, which is a federal act,” Lt. Ames said. “We are authorized to exchange information between law enforcement and school officials . . . because we share a common goal: the best interests of the children and well-being of the people involved.”

Lt. Ames refused to answer any questions about the specific case of the New Year’s Eve party to protect the confidentiality of the officers involved.

He did say, however, that the December 31, 2019 incident was not typically one where information would be shared with the school.

“In a normal set of circumstances, if a rumor had circulated through the school and someone contacted me, I would’ve said, ‘That’s nothing we’re going to discuss because it doesn’t meet any of the criteria to be so necessary for me to disclose it to you,’” said Lt. Ames. “But because of the channels they went - and that’s where we get into specific officers or specific school employees having conversations or whatever - that’s where things deviated from the normal circumstances.”

Concerns regarding the Extracurricular Code of Conduct and its implementation remain.

In response to the incident, Potsdam Superintendent, Joann Chambers, wrote in statement:

“The Potsdam Central School District and Potsdam Village Police Department have a long and positive history of working together. Both organizations strive to serve our community and do what is best to keep our students healthy and safe, and we value this collaborative effort.

As a result of this incident, Chief of Police Mark Murray and I have had many productive conversations about how we can meet our mutual goals while respecting the privacy of students and their families. There are circumstances under which the sharing of information is necessary and appropriate. I am working with Chief Murray to more clearly define those parameters for both our school staff and members of the department.

The Board of Education is responsive to the community that elects them. They have heard feedback about Policy 5205 from parents, students, staff and administration and made plans to review the policy and draft possible revisions. I have gathered policies from all of the other school districts in our region and have compiled a summary for the Board to inform their work. Once the Program and Policy Committee develops a draft, it will be shared with students, parents, coaches, and staff, and there will be a 30 day comment period for stakeholders to submit additional feedback for the Board’s consideration.”

We will continue to monitor the story.

*FOIL: Freedom of Information Law; generally provides that any person has the right to request access to federal agency records or information except to the extent the records are protected from disclosure by any of nine exemptions contained in the law or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions.

PCS - A Place to Destress?

Columbus Day Controversy

Lily Plague

We’ve all heard the saying, “In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” But it’s exactly what he did when he reached America that many have taken issue with.

In grade school, students learn about Christopher Columbus, the great Italian explorer, coming to the New World and finding strange plants, animals, and gold. He also encountered groups of people previously unknown to the Western World. Unbeknownst to him, these people had been living in America for 15,000 years.

Columbus sailed back to Europe, bringing his new discoveries with him, and thus launched a great age of learning, discovery, and excitement.

As it turns out, there was more to this story.

Many of the less delicate aspects of Columbus, such as the rampant spread of European diseases to the Native Americans, was left out of the kindergarten curriculum (as well as most popular culture). At least it was until people started petitioning for a name change.

Nowadays, many places, including SUNY Potsdam and Washington D.C., now know October 14th as “Indigoneous People’s Day.” This new approach to the holiday invites celebration of the people who were already in America, rather than celebrating the man who exploited them.

However, the debate is not as clear cut as it may seem. Some Italian Americans, a traditionally vilified group in American history, view Columbus Day as a time to celebrate their heritage and contribution to the United States.

Others subscribe to the notion that without Christopher Columbus, the United States might not exist at all. These groups believe “Columbus Day” has meaning and should continue to be celebrated as the federal holiday as it has been since 1937.

Potsdam Central School District, however, has not yet decided to make the switch, though many are calling for it. Among those rallying are an outspoken group at Lawrence Avenue Elementary.

The group consists of 12 students from the 3rd and 4th grades, advised by Amy Stevenson, Adrienne White, and Amy Murphy.

Their goal? According to them, it is, “To change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day in our school, our community, and the state… and then the government, to the president. Maybe send the idea to other schools so that they can change it too.”

While the group’s petition may not make it to the White House, they are hoping to bring it to the students and faculty of Potsdam middle and high school to spread their message.

Juul Detectors: Lifesaving Tech or Invasion of Privacy?

Luca Pecora

Recent studies have shown that juuling and e-cigarette use is at an all-time high. This year, Juul sensors have been added to some of bathrooms on PCS grounds, and most students don’t know what they do, where they are, and the expense of these devices.

When sitting down with Mr. Bennett, the principal at Potsdam High School, to discuss the new detectors he gave us information on the following: each vape detector costs about 800 dollars, though he refused to confirm exactly how many were in the school. Therefore, the final price is still unknown. It is also still unknown where the actual locations of all the detectors are. And finally, what is it they actually do? The devices are known for detecting vapers and smoke, but what else?

Some functions include detecting different molecules, vapers in the air, and tobacco. Mr. Bennett also mentioned the detectors can pick up sound, which poses more questions about what noises are being picked up and the volume needed to trigger a detector’s response. On the IPVideo’s website, the mother company selling Halo Vape Detectors, the detectors are advertised as, “... a multi-sensor capable of detecting vape, smoke, THC and sound abnormalities like shouting in areas a camera cannot be placed. Additional sensors give Halo the ability to monitor air quality for temperature, humidity, hazardous chemicals and more!”

According to a member of the safety committee, the idea to install the sensors was brought up by Mr. Bennett to the group. Students on the committee agreed with the decision to put detectors in the school. The reason Mr. Bennett introduced the vape detectors was based upon new studies about health problems connected to vaping. According to the CDC website, “As of October 1, 2019, 1,080* lung injury cases associated with using e-cigarette, or vaping, products have been reported to CDC from 48 states and 1 U.S. territory.” Because of this and their reports related to the casualties of vaping, Mr. Bennett believes that when you are on school grounds you should be safe and that it is his responsibility to assure your safety.

Although these sensors have been installed and the school community is aware of their presence, students still have questions: is privacy being considered, and will they curb the vaping and e-cigarette use at PCS.

All articles and video edited by the PCS News Team.