School Privacy essays

School Privacy essays The incidents of April 20, 1999 from Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado put the consequences of student privacy in schools into a new perspective. Two students, Dylan Klebold and Ryan Harris, who were, for all intents, intelligent and well adjusted went on a killing spree. They killed and injured several members of the school including a teacher. (Rosenberg, 2000) Then they turned the guns on themselves. Their plans were grandiose. After the massacre, they intended to flee the country. Once the furor had died down, new information showed that the two students were generally reticent, withdrawn and subjected to bullying by their peers, especially the physically stronger students. Klebold and Harris were emotionally and physically abused. Isolated, they developed a hatred for their fellow students. Following this heinous incident, the usual suspects began opining on how this could have been prevented. One of the key points were whether their privacy ought to have been intruded by searching their lockers for clues that might have prevented this disaster. Many such instances make news these days. Among these: students bringing guns to school, the infiltration of the drug culture into schools and teenage pregnancies among middle and High school students. At the core of all these problems is addressing the issues of any individual's privacy versus the common good and safety of fellow students. These issues cannot be dismissed offhand. The consequences of adopting one position over the other might even have constitutional consequences. The fourteenth amendment to the US Constitution protects the right of an individual to privacy. The Fourth Amendment protects the student from illegal searches and seizures (House.gov, 2003) This essay will address the ethical issues surroundin...