Counterpoint: Exposing Espionage

Joe Okkema, News Editor

Following the exposure of events like the National Security Agency’s domestic spying scandal, it’s only natural that people rush to defend their right to privacy now more than ever. The Fourth Amendment does indeed guarantee protection against “unreasonable search and seizure,” so it’s no surprise that Americans have regarded their privacy as an integral part of their Constitutional rights. And for the most part, this insistence on such a right is justifiable, defendable and rational.

Furthermore, this right should not be taken for granted, as the commodities it offers are almost unimaginable to citizens of less democratic countries. Yet, in the instance of new Illinois legislation allowing school administrators to demand access to a student’s social media accounts if they are suspected of cyberbullying, the health and wellbeing of a student needs to be preserved rather than these conveniences.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) in the United States in 2013, a suicide occurred every 12.8 minutes. Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-24. When you consider that the AFSP reports that bullying increases the likelihood of suicide attempts in teens by as much as nine times, it becomes obvious that addressing the issue of suicide in young adults directly involves addressing the prominence of bullying, particularly cyberbullying, in our culture.

This new legislation directly combats the epidemic of cyberbullying, and so it shouldn’t be ruled outrageous because it extends school authority outside of the classroom. Rather than focusing on what one feels this legislation might be taking away from students, one should look instead to the benefits it offers. While bullying is easily reported, it’s often hard to prove that someone truly was a victim without basing claims on hearsay. With the passage of this law, administrators can now establish clear and concrete proof of bullying through tweets, messages, texts, etc., and thus discipline those students who are truly at fault.

Addressing objections to this legislation’s alleged violation of personal privacy, it’s important to recognize the purpose of social media: to present yourself to the virtually the entire Internet. By using social media, you have already willingly relinquished a significant amount of your privacy, and if you truly are bullying someone, then you do not deserve the little you have left.