There is a possibility that our team may not be able to make it to the regional comp in Virginia. The reasoning behind this is that it is unsafe to travel!!!
Our team is very unhappy about this and we hope that it does not turn out this way!!
Please reply if your team is in a similar situation.
Chris
Team hyper 69
Quincy MA
The issue of travel is, as it allways has been, an issue for parents. The parents of all students have the ability to pursue limits on travel as they allways have been able to do. The schools should only respond to the desires of the individual parents as it pertains to thier children.
This time is probably the safest time in history to take an airplane, not the most convenient though. There are checkpoints @ all airports now. Impossible to carry a weapon aboard. Besides there is increased security all throughout the country. To tell you the truth this is the safest time to travel. And the most needed times, as tourist sites are heavily affected after the events of September 11. I mean we are going to NYC, and we are excited to go to NYC, even though it has been the main sight for attacks. I am sure that when fears subside, than you will go back to Virginia.
Though I agree with Kyle on this to a point, I also understand why the school boards are doing what they are doing. There are a few towns here in south eastern Mass that have forbid all trips to BOSTON… never mind out of state.
Let’s be realistic, adults don’t want us to get hurt…and the only way they can really have a feeling of keeping us out of danger is to keep us in our hometowns. I’d not be surprised if many teams are suddenly hit with rulings about going to regionals out of their state, or the championship particulary. Of course, that doesn’t mean I agree with it. If parents are willing to sign a permission slip, then the team should be able to travel in my mind.
~ lora
I too understand the reasoning behind the school’s decisions and I also think that travel should not be an issue. Unfortunatley, I cannot agree with the statment that it’s the safest time to travel. I know some people who work in many different parts of airports. The safety precautions being taken are not what they are being made out to be. I also know that Virginia has way more things that could be targets. “Secret” military bases, nuke plants, storage facilities,… the list really goes on for quite a length. There’s a claim in Va that " you’re never more than an hour away from a state park." Well, an hour away from a state park means you’re with in 35 miles of some sort of government facility. The only reason I know about them is because I’ve either lived near them or gotten lost near them. But give it time, I think many rules will change, once the Americans who have started taking anti-depressants get a grip on reality again (or maybe for the first time).
*Originally posted by Kyle Fenton *
**This time is probably the safest time in history to take an airplane, not the most convenient though. There are checkpoints @ all airports now. Impossible to carry a weapon aboard. Besides there is increased security all throughout the country. To tell you the truth this is the safest time to travel. And the most needed times, as tourist sites are heavily affected after the events of September 11. I mean we are going to NYC, and we are excited to go to NYC, even though it has been the main sight for attacks. I am sure that when fears subside, than you will go back to Virginia. **
Not really the safest. One instance is where a man had seven knives, mace, and a stungun and passed through security without a problem.
Another would be the tragic events of this past Monday.
The main problem is that these teams are a school function and all school-related events put the Board of ed in a liability situation…if anything were to happen in Epcot/Florida/anywhere else they are accountable.
-Mancuso
We had much the same problem. We (the students) heard that our school board was considering cancelling out of state trips, notably the national. So, we considered our options, wrote a petition, and got it signed. There was a school board meeting tonight (11/20), so we went (about 15 team members). The board discussed the issue, and some of us talked, our adults talked, and the school board approved the trip. They believe that trips should be considered on a case-to-case basis and this one should be left to the parents to decide if it’s safe enough. We’re all pretty happy. I hope other school boards see this issue in the same light. Good luck.
Chris
We’re not allowed to fly or leave the country :rolleyes:
You are not allowed to fly? Are you going to National? If so, flying is definitely safer than driving in private vehicles, and propably safer than going by bus.
LoL, Kit - you don’t think that school boards think logically do you? If they did, they’d be engineers. 
~Tom Fairchild~, who’s experiences with his school board have been frusterating journeys through red tape.
*Originally posted by Kit Gerhart *
**You are not allowed to fly? Are you going to National? If so, flying is definitely safer than driving in private vehicles, and propably safer than going by bus. **
No nationals, no matter what :(.
I’m really sorry to hear that you won’t be going to National. I guess I sort of understand, as school boards could really be questioned in the unlikely event that something did happen. Still, it seems to me that the decision of whether or not to travel, and by what means, should be that of the students and their parents.
Then again, I’m not a lawyer, so what do I know?
Kit Gerhart
Team 45
Flying to San Juan for a cruise tomorrow
Flying to Spain in February
Flying to Orlando for Nationals in April
OK, maybe I’m crazy, but I’ll chance it.
4 planes (out of 20 targeted) out of hundreds in the sky…one day in tens of thousands of days
w/o all the added security there is now…i really doubt there is much to chance
-Mancuso