Introduction
 

One winter morning, you walk through the parking lot of your school and see the flashing lights of two local police cruisers. You walk through the main doors of the school towards the attendance office, where you are greeted by a group of police officers. After stopping briefly, you try to walk to your locker, however, caution tape blocks part of the hallway. You stop and ask a student nearby what happened.

“Robbery,” she responds. “Two computers from the lab again.”

Her response does not surprise you. There have been three other robberies at your school within the past month. Three different students committed the robberies on different occasions. You assumed it was only a matter of time before it happened again. Fortunately, the rest of your morning goes well and you are able to reach your locker on the way lunch. While paying for your lunch you overhear two students talking about the robberies.

“I heard that the police are getting an expert involved this time,” one student said. When asked what kind of expert the student replied, “I guess he’s some kind of computer profiler. The police want to try to prevent any future robberies, and since there isn’t enough money for surveillance cameras, they hired this guy.”

The next day, a newsletter to parents passed out during homeroom confirms the statements you overheard at lunch. Your school’s administration and the local police hired an expert in criminal profiling to assist them with the recent problems. The expert collected data on the people responsible for the three robberies, taking note of any characteristics that they had in common. Using this list, your school’s administration and the local police are going to compile a list of students that are at a “high risk” of committing a robbery in the future. In order to compile this list, you are required to fill out a questionnaire that requests information about your habits outside of school. Any student who fails to complete the questionnaire will be suspended.

When you receive that questionnaire a week later, you are stunned at what information is requested. You wonder what purpose knowing what time you go to bed serves. Several other classmates are also upset by questionnaire. Your classmates decide that it is an invasion of privacy to require students to answer the questions. You agree and suggest an organized act of civil disobedience to voice your opinions. You want the civil disobedience to go well, so everyone agrees to research different types in order to chose the best one. You only have a few days before the questionnaire is due. Don’t waste any time! Click on the “Process” link and get started on your research. After researching the three areas of civil disobedience, select the one that you think is most appropriate for resisting your school’s invasion of privacy.