As Covid-19 continues to rampage through the country, more and more schools are having to switch back to remote learning. It's an extreme change for both students and teachers, and adjusting to Zoom has been a challenge all around. However, there has been a recent increase in stress for students learning through Zoom, and that increase has come with the requirement of turning on cameras. 

Students at MEAA have always been vocal about their struggles regarding mental health, and anxiety issues specifically. Students who have issues with eye contact, like those with ADHD or who fall on the autism spectrum, feel as though having their cameras on is like prolonged eye contact, and it makes them extremely uncomfortable and prone to anxiety attacks. It also causes them to fear because they believe their faces are too close to the other students. Having cameras on through zoom is one of the biggest anxiety factors in remote learning, and causes students to be distracted because they're trying to focus on keeping themselves looking presentable. Many students at MEAA agree that when their cameras are on, it makes it harder for them to focus in class. Furthermore, students are forced to participate in something called "Continuous Partial Attention", which happens when students attempt to focus on both the teacher speaking and all of the students' non-verbal cues. Students at MEAA also agree that during class, they're more apt to focus on what other students are doing than what the teacher is, which is only made harder when students are partaking in activities during Zoom calls. 

Moreover, many students have responsibilities that take up larger importance than class. A good amount of teenagers have to take care of younger siblings while their parents work during the day, and keeping their cameras on for that is both embarrassing and distracting. Finding child care services during the current pandemic is nearly impossible, and if those services are available, they may be out of financial possibility for the family. Adding on to this, many students live in visibly low-income housing and become insecure when they're forced to show themselves with it in the background. Some students at MEAA have even disclosed that they live in households where they share rooms with their entire family due to financial loss and don't have space where they can be alone for class. In school, students are not required to disclose information about their personal lives, but this privacy is entirely lost in video-based classrooms. Not only is privacy lost, but endangerment could also become an issue. In one MEAA class, a student could not turn on their camera because their parents were having a domestic dispute in the background. 1 in 15 children live in abusive households, and while that specific MEAA student might not be one of them, it's a guarantee that at least one student at MEAA is in that environment. Not only would they be forced to show the abuse by having their camera on, but it would also worry students and staff, who would feel an obligation to speak up about it. Speaking up, while it may seem a good way to help get the student out of danger, ends up being one of the worst possible routes to take. It often leads to putting the student in even more danger than they faced before by making the abuser aware that others have witnessed their actions. Aside from domestic issues, many other schools have allowed students to keep their cameras off to prevent cyberbullying. MEAA students have shared experiences of seeing others post pictures publically of students in Zoom calls, making fun of how they look, things they've said, or things in the background of their home. MEAA is not exempt from bullying, and the probability of it continuing to happen if camera rules are enforced is extremely high. Students are not safe when their cameras are on, and it takes away their privacy. 

Of course, there are many counterarguments as to why camera rules are a good idea. They could ensure that students pay attention in class, as well as help ensure participation in physical activity-based classes. However, there are other routes to take if participation is your worry. For instance, if a teacher calls on a student, and the student responds through their mic, it should be noted that the student is present and actively focusing on their class. If the student does not, it should be clear that the student is not focusing nor present, unless the student has previously notified the teacher that they were stepping out of the room. Every person at MEAA has their right to privacy in their own homes, and enforcing camera rules takes that away. 

In conclusion, forcing students to turn their cameras on takes away privacy, makes cyberbullying a bigger problem, could possibly endanger students, increases insecurity, and overall reduces a student's ability to focus.