Southern Lehigh Takes Steps to Stop Food Fights

If you’re a Southern Lehigh High School student intent on starting a food fight in the cafeteria, you might want to put that banana down and walk away slowly. There’s going to be a new video camera in town.

The school board Monday approved a plan to put security cameras in the cafeteria, which members hope will help cut down on any Animal House-like behavior.

The plan passed by an 8-1 vote, but it generated discussion about balancing increased security with privacy issues. Currently there are security cameras at the entrance of each school building and in parking lots.

Todd Bergey, director of support services, told board members that after upgrading security cameras to high definition outside the school buildings in response to a safety audit, the district had at least a couple left over. Two could be installed in the high school cafeteria to identify culprits who start food fights or cause other problems. The installation cost would be $795.

“Food fights have been a problem in the past,” Bergey said. “One student can instigate. Maybe three days in a row he throws food. They never truly identify who threw the food until it starts a full-blown food fight. So the cameras can quickly identify and resolve the problem before it becomes an issue.”

Bergey said the board Facilities Committee also discussed looking into the cost of expanding the use of security cameras in the gym and perhaps hallways in the high school.

Board member Corinne Gunkle said cameras at the school entrances are needed for security and putting some in the cafeteria made sense to solve a specific problem. But she didn’t want to give the staff “carte blanche” to start putting cameras throughout the schools.

Gunkle said it’s not just a budget issue, it’s also about achieving a balance with privacy concerns. “I think you do have to balance privacy vs. safety,” she said. “I would like to have that discussion basically. To know where [the cameras are] and why we’re putting them there.”

Jeff Dimmig, chairman of the Facilities Committee, favored installing the cameras in the cafeteria but thought the district should be able to put them in hallways and other high traffic areas without returning for board approval. 

“It’s a safety issue frankly,” Dimmig said. He said the cameras can save a lot of time in investigating incidents, including crimes and food fights. “The vice principal doesn’t have to go around and interview 30 people trying to figure out who started a food fight," he said.

His fellow board members preferred to limit their approval to putting cameras in the cafeteria for now and requiring staff to come back to the board if they want to put cameras elsewhere inside the buildings. Only Dimmig voted "no."