By Aidan Fox ’16, News Staff Writer

On May 20th, Edward Snowden, a former computer system administrator for the National Security Agency, fled the United States to seek refuge in Hong Kong. On June 6th, the British newspaper the Guardian reported that the NSA was secretly collecting millions of telephone calls, emails, and texts, news that shocked and enraged people around the globe. Three days later, Snowden revealed his identity as the leaker in a video interview conducted in his hotel room in Hong Kong, explaining that his motive was “to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.” For the next two months, Snowden and the United States government would play a game of cat and mouse. When Snowden was denied asylum in Hong Kong, he boarded a flight to Moscow. He would remain stranded in the transit terminal of the Sheremetyvo airport for over a month because the United States had canceled his passport, leaving him a wanted man without a country. From the airport he sent applications for asylum to more than twenty countries. His applications were accepted by Nicaragua and Venezuela, but he was unable to travel to Latin America for fear of being intercepted. Finally, on August 1st, he left the Moscow airport after being granted temporary asylum by Russia.

Snowden’s decision to reveal such highly classified information has been polarizing, and some in the Newark Academy community seem to be conflicted between the moral obligation of blowing the whistle on wrong doing and protecting America’s national security interests. “I do believe he’s someone who was following his own conscience and morality,” said humanities teacher and Young Democrats advisor Ms. Lifson. “I do, in principle, support the idea of civil disobedience, which is when you have a moral law, [you] follow it and you are willing to accept the consequences of doing so.” However, she remains “uneasy,” with what Snowden did, saying, that she would not have blown the whistle on the NSA had she been in Snowden’s position because she “would not want to put an American citizen or US Foreign Policy in jeopardy by having info leaked.” When defending Snowden’s actions, Tyler Dohrn ’14, President of the Young Democrats Club, points out that some of the NSA’s revealed actions are violations of the 4th amendment. “I definitely think that it was right for Snowden to leak information about the NSA,” he said. “In fact, I’d argue he had not only the right, but also the responsibility to do what he did.” Zach Persing ’15, member of the Young Republicans Club, adds that Snowden’s decision was even more “courageous” when you consider that “he had a lifestyle that most people would die for, yet he gave that up in the name of the United States Constitution.” Zach adds that while he respects Snowden’s leaking, he believes that “running away from the American Justice System was very cowardly.”

The situation has largely been considered a disaster for the US government. A fervent fear of the NSA listening to citizens’ phone calls has spread through the nation. “In [a] digital era,” former Vice President Al Gore tweeted, voicing the concerns of many, “privacy must be a priority. Is it just me, or is a secret blanket surveillance obscenely outrageous?” Eavesdropping may be “outrageous,” but secrecy is integral to diplomacy and government affairs.

Young Republicans club member Mr. Bitler was also angered and stated, “I think President Obama and our current government are a little tone deaf to Americans who don’t appreciate the government getting into their private affairs.” However, Mrs. Lifson did not share this outrage towards the NSA. “In times of heightened danger, I do believe it’s okay to sacrifice some level of policy in order to protect the public.”

To some, America’s failure to extradite Snowden back to the United States highlights its waning influence internationally. Russia especially was unwilling to cooperate with the United States in arresting the 30-year old former Hawaii resident. Mr. Parlin believes that this is partially because “people love to make the United States look a little foolish. Russia’s gotten its moneys’ worth out of this.” He adds that, “One of Putin’s purposes is to embarrass the United States. He’s done that.” Mr. Bitler was happy that Snowden was not taken back to the States and jailed. “If he were arrested and terrible things were done to him,” he asserted, “then other people who would be whistleblowers on abuses of the government would be less likely to [report said abuses].”

Regardless of the morality of Snowden’s actions, they highlight the growing issue of privacy (or lack thereof) in the 21st century. In a world that is storing more and more information online, on phones, or on computers, this is an issue that students and faculty alike should be aware of in their everyday lives.