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2/10 7:29pm
As one of the students who posted on the site, I feel I should weigh in
on the recent Scott Brown incident. It seems important to highlight the
events as they were explained to me.
State Senator Brown's
unprofessionalism was present from the start. He arrived at the
assembly thirty minutes late and from what I understand, only
briefly touched upon the intended issue. He explained that night on the
news that he was trying to teach the students the lack of privacy of
such websites. However, that was not the issue expected by teachers,
students and administrators. In fact the Senator requested that he
specifically speak to King Philip students about the issue of gay
marriage because he believed that they were being given a limited view
of the issue.
In regard to the postings, the students who posted on the
website were a small minority as compared to the many students who were
required to attend for class. These students also had to hear Senator
Brown's tirade in lieu of actually hearing a debate about an important
controversial issue. These students were likely not aware of the
facebook.com group, as to view this group, one must register for the
site. Most students in attendance had not been exposed to the content on
the site, until Senator Brown brought it to their attention. As for the
content, most was not at all directed personally at Brown, even less at
his family (the packets handed out had many posts edited out - he only
wanted the students to see certain ones). If Brown had a personal
problem with these posts, as a responsible adult, he should have taken
this up with the administration. To call out students in front of their
peers and teachers was not a mature course of action; one an adult
should have known to avoid, one completely inexcusable for an elected
official. Part of his job is to take criticism. The attacks on facebook
are the student's right, if they feel this way, they are allowed to post
thier opinions. These are not elementary school children, these are
mature young adults, most 16 -18 years old, who care about the issue,
and do not agree with Senator Brown's view on gay marriage. Facebook
hosts thousands of political groups and gets thousands of high school
and college kids into discussions and debates about political issues;
even allowing members to post "campaign issues." I believe that most,
if not all, of the students are not ashamed of what they posted (I for
one, am not). They are instead ashamed of coming into an event and
having the important political speaker criticize them personally in
front of all their peers. Senator Brown's behavior was very unbecoming
of a Senator. Parents are rightfully angered, and Senator Brown, as a
father, should recognize this and publicly apologize for his behavior.
- EL + CH
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