Less than a year after the resignation of long-time principal Lee McCaskill, Brooklyn Technical High School has not lost the traits that make it the sorriest of the NYC Specialized High Schools. New principal Randy Asher has overseen a new science lab and, in a display of unusual courage, the installation of vending machines to feed students who, held prisoner by the school’s no-one-leaves-the-building-ever policy, cannot eat lunch.
But negatives remain: staircase explosions and police state conditions give the school a Boston Public charm. Most disturbing are the Homeland Security measures on Dekalb Avenue-relentlessly patrolled by school security officers who harangue hapless students for stopping to adjust a bookbag or even--give us a break--smoke crack. Sheesh. A visiting reporter (whose identity will remain shrouded in secrecy, but whose initials are Josh Shnayer) was told that he could be “taken to the station” for not walking. More disturbing is the new ID card system that Principal Asher promises will cut down on cutting classes and lateness—students must swipe ID cards to enter the building, swipe again to enter the lunchroom, and—we swear we are not making this up—swipe to enter hallways and leave classrooms.
-- Josh Shnayer