Students are walking swiftly up and down Lane hallways. The predictable pushing and shoving occurs. The occasional security guard is stationed at a stairway. They scan the crowds, looking for trouble, looking for a disturbance. Up above there’s another eye in the sky.

In today’s day and age, safety and security is a topic of much heated discussion. So is privacy. From being spied on through phone records to the emergence of drones, privacy is an issue many Americans hold highly. According to the Pew Research Center, 88 percent of Americans say it is important that they not have someone watch or listen to them without their permission.

During the summer of 2015 there have been security cameras installed in Lane hallways. Students were notified by their presence when Mr. Milsap made the announcement at this school year’s rules meeting.

In 2013-2014, 75 percent of schools used one or more security cameras to monitor the school, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics.

Senior Karen Cruz, Div. 665, understands why the cameras are necessary.

“Obviously it is for security purposes. They’re there to keep the student body safe,” Cruz said.

Cruz does not have a problem with the security cameras. For her they are a “necessary evil.”

“I’m not doing anything wrong so I have nothing to worry about. But for other students it could be a problem. They might being doing things that they shouldn’t be doing in the first place. That’s why the cameras are there. To stop people from doing the wrong things,” Cruz said.

For some Lane students the cameras went undetected. Some were not even aware of the cameras’ existence.

“We have cameras? What?” Zion Holloway, Div. 052, said. “That’s weird. Right? Someone is watching over us and we are suppose to act normal about it.”

Senior Abbas Hyder, Div. 662, was also unaware of the cameras.

“I didn’t even know they were there. Now that I know they are, it kinda makes me want to put my ID on or something,” Hyder said.

Hyder was worried about his privacy. He said he is concerned about being watched.

“Is there a person just sitting watching the cameras the whole day? If you don’t have your ID on are they going to come after you like ‘Second floor, second floor doesn’t have his ID on go get him’?” Hyder said.

It is no secret, however, that students have fewer rights when they walk in school doors. Lockers are subject to search whenever the administration sees fit, as are bags and purses. The lack of rights students have to their personal belongings on school property was highlighted in the United States Supreme Court decision in New Jersey v. T.L.O. to allow school administrators to search students bags if there is reasonable suspicion to perform a search.

“Again, a necessary evil,” Cruz said.

While Cruz said she does not have a problem with cameras for security reasons, she does have a problem with being spied on. The difference, she said, is the cameras are there to protect, not to follow one specific person for ill intent.

“I don’t want the administration to take advantage of it. The cameras are there to make sure everything’s running smoothly, not to follow people throughout their day,” Cruz said.

Security guard Mr. Jerry Hall is thankful for the cameras’ presence. He believes everyone will benefit from them.

“For the safety of everyone, yeah. It’s like having an extra pair of eyes for us [security guards],” Hall said.

In response to students worrying about their privacy, Hall said the cameras are not there to cause any harm to the student body.

“Nobody wants any fools walking up in here that’s not supposed to be here,” Hall said.

Megan Konrath, Div. 664, sees no point in the cameras.

“Do I feel safer with security cameras? No, why would I? There’s no reason for them being there. I don’t know what the cameras are going to solve,” Konrath said.

Lane’s head of security Michael Smith sees no problems. He would not even mind if more would be installed.

“As head of security, would I like more cameras? Yes, but that’s not my decision. Eventually I would hope there will be more, of course,” Smith said.

Smith was not able to disclose how many or where the cameras are located. If an intruder walked into the school and read the paper then s/he would know where the cameras are, he said.

“Certain questions I can not answer. Certain things I have to get OK’d by safety and security and from downtown,” Smith said.

While Smith remained mum on a few details, Mr. Ara was able to disclose that there are 13 cameras inside and outside the building.

The video cameras are the traditional black orb cameras. The white rectangular objects are sensors that detect when a door has been opened or closed, useful after school hours and on the weekends, Ara said.

Colin Boyle

The cameras were paid for through CPS. According to Ara, CPS decided where the cameras went and how many Lane got.

“We are the only school that doesn’t have full school cameras. So we asked CPS for some and they gave us a certain amount. We’re working on getting them on each floor. The reason we don’t have all of them is because we’re a big school. CPS said it’s too expensive. You can do five schools for the price of doing Lane,” Ara said.

Many students have expressed their concern on who has access to the cameras and for how long the recordings are being kept.

“Our security, tech coordinators, administration, anyone who basically needs to review footage, our dean of students, has access to the recordings,” Ara said.

Ara does not know the exactly how long the recordings are kept. He believes it is somewhere between three to six months. As for how long the cameras are on: “24/7,” according to Ara.

There has already been some reward to having the cameras. Ara recalls a time where students were speeding in the parking lot.

“The car went past teachers and we were able to pull the footage and identify the license plate, type of car, and find out who drives the car. We work with the police,” Ara said.

While the cameras are in place to secure the school from outsiders with ill intent, Ara highlighted that the cameras are mainly in place for the well-being of the students.

“We are more concerned with what happens after 3:20. If a student passes out on the third floor at five o’clock at night after practice, it’ll be easier for our security to see them on camera instead of them having to walk and try to find them,” Ara said.

Ara is less concerned over students causing a disturbance in the hallways.

“We don’t have a lot of issues. Lane has always been a nice place to be. We don’t have a lot of problems that other schools might have,” Ara said