Chaperone Duct-tapes Students' Hotel Room Doors Shut

[StColette]

MILLBURY, Ohio — Parents have complained to a northwest Ohio school board that a chaperone sealed students in their hotel rooms with duct tape during a high school choir trip.

At a heated meeting yesterday, Michelle Mata told the Lake Local school board in Millbury that the tactic panicked her son during a recent weekend trip to Chicago.

Sylvia Keeler says she may file charges. Her son, Mark Hummel, said he worried he could be trapped during a fire.

School board president Timothy Krugh told parents the tape was meant to keep students safe.

Schools Superintendent Jim Witt says the tape would show if students violated curfew but wouldn't have kept them from escaping in an emergency.


______

Our chaperones on trips did this to us when I was in high school. We always had to be in our own assigned rooms by a certain time. They placed a piece of tape on the door in a way that if we openned the door the tape would break and we would be in big trouble. If it was an emergency we of course could open the door and go get one of the chaperones without getting into any trouble. I honestly don't see how duct tape is going to keep someone from getting out of a room in case of an emergency.

[TeresaBenedicta]

I've had the same thing done to me on trips I've taken in large groups as well. Softball tournaments and band trips. I don't see anything harmful in it. Now if they taped enough that it really was a fire hazard, that's another story. But that would take a LOT of tape for that to be the case.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' post='1534737' date='May 20 2008, 11:31 AM']But that would take a LOT of tape for that to be the case.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
and would take forever if there was a lot of students.

[premed_jakey]

I agree with everyone. I went on trips where we were "taped in". No harm, it was just to see if the tape was broken.

[StColette]

I'm beginning to wonder if this student may have "snuck out" and got caught and possibly came up with this excuse as to not get into trouble. Just wondering...

[TeresaBenedicta]

[quote name='StColette' post='1534763' date='May 20 2008, 02:47 PM']I'm beginning to wonder if this student may have "snuck out" and got caught and possibly came up with this excuse as to not get into trouble. Just wondering...[/quote]

Those were my thoughts as well... At any rate, I can't imagine the mother's filing charges going anywhere. Seem ridiculus to me. The judge would probably laugh it out of the court room. Unless, of course, there's more to the whole situation than we know about.

[StColette]

[img]http://www.wnwo.com/uploadedImages/wnwo/News/Stories/Duct%20Taped%20Door.jpg[/img]

picture of how they taped the door. I'm sorry but that's really easy to get out of lol

MILLBURY, OH -- Lake High School parents reacted sharply at a school board meeting Monday, after learing that student choir members on a recent field trip had their hotel room doors sealed with duct tape.

The Lake High School choir took a field trip to Chicago last weekend which is now is clouded by controversy. Some parents and choir members are outraged at the way chaperones kept an eye on the students.

According to senior Mark Hummel, Lake's assistant principal and choir director duct taped the door to their hotel room, making it difficult to get out of the room.

"It was a big concern for me," Hummel said. "What if there was a fire? What if something happened to someone? {What if} someone passed out? How are we gonna get them out without worrying about tape on our door?"

Mark's mother, Sylvia Keeler, understood keeping an eye on the kids after curfew, but thought taping the door handle crossed the line.

"There's a difference between putting a piece of tape on the door and duct taping a door handle shut," Keeler said.

We asked Lake superintendent Jim Witt if he would like to comment on camera about the complaint. He declined, but did issue a statement.

Lake Local Schools' Statement:

Millbury, Ohio - This past weekend, members of the Lake Local Schools Music Department, traveled to Chicago on a trip approved by the Board of Education. While staying at a Chicago hotel, the student were given a curfew and the chaperones were diligent in supervising students to ensure safety. As an extra precaution, a piece of tape was placed on the door handle and attached to the doorframe to provide evidence if a student left the room without permission. This precautionary measure was recommended by the tour company and has been performed in the past by our school as well as other area school districts on overnight trips.

This precautionary measure did not prohibit or reduce the ability of the students to leave their rooms in the event of an emergency of if they needed to leave their rooms to contact a chaperone.

- Jim Witt, Superintendent

[url="http://www.wnwo.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=136342"]http://www.wnwo.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=136342[/url]

[CatherineM]

We used to tie people's doors in summer camp. Some twine around the door pull, then around a post kept them from being able to get out. In a fire it would have been bad I guess, but at that age, you just don't think. When dealing with a large group of kids that you are responsible for, if one had snuck out and gotten hurt, then there would have been a big lawsuit. If he couldn't get out, I wonder how much tape was used. My husband had trouble getting our hotel door open in Ottawa, but it turned out that he was pushing instead of pulling. He was nervous, and got confused, then panicked. Maybe this kid had claustrophobia, and the sound of the duct tape being pulled from the roll, and hearing it go on the door might have panicked him.

[TeresaBenedicta]

Wow.

Well, I definitely say it's an over-reaction on behalf of the complaining parents, then.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

This is pretty standard youth ministry procedure.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Raphael' post='1534822' date='May 20 2008, 12:28 PM']This is pretty standard youth ministry procedure.[/quote]
+J.M.J.+
i've actually never had to do something like this. my students know me and know the penalties if they happened to be out of their room. never had a problem yet.

[Groo the Wanderer]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1534826' date='May 20 2008, 02:43 PM']+J.M.J.+
i've actually never had to do something like this. my students know me and know the penalties if they happened to be out of their room. never had a problem yet. [/quote]



oooh----fierce!

[StColette]

[quote name='Lil Red' post='1534826' date='May 20 2008, 02:43 PM']+J.M.J.+
i've actually never had to do something like this. my students know me and know the penalties if they happened to be out of their room. never had a problem yet. [/quote]

[let_go_let_God]

I have never been on a trip in which they needed to duct tape doors shut. People seemed to trust the groups that I've been with. I actually read a book recently about a teacher who refused to tape doors shut and he once saw chaperons taping plastic wrap for windows to their students doors.

God bless,
LGLG

[Deb]

I find it pretty pathetic that anyone would tape the doors to begin with. How paranoid can you get?