Letter to the editor: Facebook group’s actions appalling

1
21

Although I am not an alumni, I am a friend and a parent of three children who attend St. Francis. I have been added to the Facebook group (opposed to the name change for the merged Catholic schools in Naugatuck) for one purpose and that is to write this post.

I recently learned that my daughter and her friends were added to this group without their permission. Consequently that also brought all of their personal pictures to the site as well.

I was appalled to learn that some of their personal moments were on display for people who we did not know to see. Those pictures came without these children even having to accept the request for the addition to this group.

As I have tried to learn more about this site I have read through the postings. I cannot help but wonder a couple of things. The administrators continually request that all interactions be done in a polite manner, with kindness and respect. Where then I ask was the kindness and respect for these children? How many other people have been added to this site without their consent or knowledge?

This certainly doesn’t seem like the Christian thing to do to me. And if these numbers are solely based on the number of people who do not know nor care about this situation, than the whole thing is based on lies.

I also cannot help but wonder about the motivation of some of the administrators of this site; one who choose to remove his/her children from the school. Another who will only speak by anonymity, obviously that person does not want pictures of his children splashed across this page.

I hope all of these administrators have been supporting these financially failing schools in all ways and will continue to do so regardless of what the outcome is. After all, what we are trying to accomplish here is a Catholic education in Naugatuck for those of us who want it.

I understand that people are upset by this and more power to you to do what you feel is necessary, however it should not be done at the expense of children or people who have not asked to be a part of this.

It is sad and unfortunate that this is happening to these schools, but I believe our children have suffered enough with this disaster. I do not believe they need to be brought into an adult situation merely for their “number”.

Please, I respectfully, kindly and politely ask that some administrator actually learn how this whole “Facebook” thing works and monitor this site a little more closely. Please show respect for those people who do not want to be involved. I certainly hope I don’t see any more of my children’s names or pictures associated with this site.

What I will do is help my children through this transition with the grace and innocence that they deserve as children of a school that is going though a crisis. I certainly will not take part of using children for any personal gain.

Julie Marzano
Naugatuck

1 COMMENT

  1. As one of the aforementioned Administrators of the “Alumni & Friends of St Francis & St Hedwig Schools Opposed to Name Change,” I feel the need to clear up a few misconceptions about our page, and our mission in general.

    I was made aware of Ms. Marzano’s legitimate concerns about a week ago, and immediately worked to rectify the situation. Her name was removed from the site, and I posted a message to the other users that if they had similar concerns, they would be immediately ameliorated. There have been no further complaints as of tonight.

    As for the rather nefarious insinuation that we are adding the names of all of Naugatuck’s children to falsely increase our number of members, again, this is just not true. Only friends and associates of an added member could add said member, so no administrator has added any names of any children to this group. If someone has been added mistakenly to this group, it is because his or her Facebook friend added him or her, not an administrator.

    As most Facebook users are aware, it is a simple matter to remove oneself from any group on the site; I and the other administrators have posted several times to our members that if they choose to remove themselves, it is a simple and fairly painless matter to do so. And again, as most Facebook users are aware (or at least they’re parents should be aware), there are a myriad of privacy settings to prevent any private pictures from being “splashed across this page.”

    Finally, to allay Ms. Marzano’s concerns that the administrators of this site do not put their money where their metaphorical mouthes are, rest assured that I donate every year to the St. Francis School Foundation, the organization that my father has tirelessly been working to build for over three decades.

    There is no ulterior motive behind this Facebook page; I simply believe that a better choice of names for the soon-to-be combined schools can be found. Thank you.

    Paul J. Geary
    Class of 1990