I’ve always been told to mind my business, no matter how valuable my input could be. Following that advice as a precedent, I shunned my proactive side as I didn’t want to endanger myself or anyone else if it meant a probability of escalating said business existed. 

Nevertheless, it’s become apparent that some people find amusement in engaging in affairs they shouldn’t concern themselves with without possessing prior knowledge of the consequences, potentially harming their community. As an immigrant, I view myself as an outlier in this environment entirely foreign to me. As such, it is only valid to give the perspective of one, and as I am mutually a student, my concerns are to be voiced in that regard as well. 

Video recordings are the primary catalysts for said harm. Publicizing the actions of others without their appropriate permission is a sign of stupidity and foolishness which will only be reflected in the community in its entirety. I can respect the entertainment factor it may bring. Still, it becomes a severe issue when it involves dehumanizing people or posting offensive content without taking notice of their mental being. Education is important. College is essential. A career is indispensable. How does it feel to have someone negate all of that? My future, our future, is practically enslaved to these people. Why should we be penalized because of the sloppiness of others? 

Student-made accounts often yield the most damage in that aspect. Just not long ago, an Instagram account going by the name “DHS Randos” was compromised after it posted a series of images of arbitrarily selected individuals to mock them. A motive such as this is absurdly childish and would not be perceived lightly by the public eye. Suppose the relationships between classmates appear as this severed. In that case, it is only plausible that the community would be recognized for lunacy.

Furthermore, posting these videos would only advertise and reveal someone’s distinct, closeted persona, destroying their public image. More recently, high school football player Marcus Stokes had his scholarship to the University of Florida withdrawn after a video of him rapping racial slurs surfaced. That alone speaks of social media’s foothold in exposing and revoking the accomplishments of victims of these videos.

In addition, stereotypes that may be harmful to specific ethnic groups are promoted during such occasions. In regards to the student body present in the Dearborn Public School District, recordings intended to glorify these fights may be interpreted negatively, especially from the lens of prejudiced or narrow-minded individuals. Dearborn is home to a large Arab community whose members are found in significant numbers in the school district. If a redundant sum displays provocative behavior, then it will fall upon the rest to carry the burden of being criticized and denied by college institutions following public disapproval.

I’d like to refer to an incident during a boys’ basketball game between Fowlerville High School and Haslett High School. If you are not familiar with what transpired at the time, FHS fans began performing taunts that were racist, in essence, towards the Black HHS players. This inappropriate behavior is a show of indecency that can be attributed to poor sportsmanship and morals. For something like this to become public knowledge, it would bring great shame to the school’s reputation and set a negative precedent for the individual graduating from said school.

Bearing this in mind, delinquency could be exploited as a form of propaganda to affirm the notion that all students misbehave and to encourage bigotry against them. The issue of recording videos may not fall under the jurisdiction of the school itself. Still, it’s up to the students to take responsibility and alleviate themselves of any consequences by erasing the videos in rapid succession and preventing any potential outbreak of new videos by refraining from recording in the first place.