Schutz Students Are Not Taking Full Advantage of Their Rights
Heba El Sahn
Democracy forms the principles of social equality and respect for individual rights within a community. In this school, students should be proud about the prevalence of a truly democratic atmosphere. They are offered several tools to bring about a democratic organization. Schutz offers its students a student council with multiple representatives from each grade, a newsletter to voice their opinions, and participation tools such as surveys and voting. In addition, there is a student representative in each of the board meetings. Students are privileged to have such opportunities even though they proclaim, "It is our right!" This can be true on some level, but this phrase might have a few catches attached to it. A lot of people do not realize that for every right given, a certain duty is expected in return.
For a democratic system to work, the participants must have integrity. They must give their honest opinion and not sway because of outside influences. Sadly, this does not take place on a large scale at school. It has come to the journalism class’s attention that students do not necessarily express their own personal views while taking surveys. The survey taking process, instead of being quiet and quick, is a hassle and basically a calamity. The scenario usually unfolds with a student hollering out what he/she is going to write down across the room. Then, a classmate suggests an alternative answer. This, in turn, leads to the two students getting involved in a debate, with each one pushing to write his or her opinion. It needs to be clear that a survey or a vote is made to give individuals the opportunity to voice their unique opinions. "A survey is more efficient if taken on the school’s website because that ensures a degree of privacy," affirmed Nourhan El Sallab. A class is theoretically supposed to offer various views; however, in reality peer pressure may cause each grade level at school to present only one or two points of view.
Schutz students must realize that when they change their answer because of the influence of a friend, they are then devaluating their democratic rights. It is a person’s duty not to pressure others in formulating their own views, and leave them to express them freely. The HSSC president, Aly El Attal, stated, "Many younger students believe its "cool" to give negative comments in a survey, even if what they’re saying is untrue. They just enjoy showing a rebellious attitude." Surveys are a valuable tool for people to get what they want and students will jeopardize their power if they do not take them seriously. Everyone needs to remember that survey taking is an art.
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