Foothill students may, in the near future, be monitored by security cameras due to the administration’s desire to protect students, the campus, the computers and other equipment at the school.

Foothill has about 20 used cameras from other high schools in the Ventura Unified School District ready to be installed. The only barrier in getting these cameras installed is the cost of labor, which according to Principal Joe Bova would cost “probably a few thousand dollars.”

The cameras would be placed on the perimeter of the school, mostly on rooftops. The idea of cameras at Foothill has been floating around for 4 or 5 years, according to Bova.

The first priority of the cameras is to protect equipment, and the second is to protect the campus during weekends, he stated. Lastly, it is to monitor students during school hours.

Sydney Short, a senior at Foothill, remarked, “I feel it’s unnecessary, I understand where the concern comes from for the school, but we don’t have a high rate of felonies.”

Cesar Calderon, also a senior at Foothill, when asked how he felt about cameras being installed said, “It feels like Big Brother all over again.”

Dan Nelson, a teacher at Ventura High School, where security cameras are already installed, said the cameras are not much of an issue with students at his school.

“No one is complaining about their rights being violated.”

He also stated that security cameras can also be used to protect a student’s rights in the event of an on-campus fight. The faculty is able to view exactly what happened so no student is unjustly accused of a fight they had no part in.

Both Mr. Bova and Mr. Nelson said that the security cameras’ presence alone helps to deter students from commiting felonies in the first place.

Bova stated that the security cameras are not “a for sure thing right now,” although Foothill has a tentative approval for the installation.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons-TKCS