This Hinsdale D-86 Official Goes Unseen In Meeting Videos

Darien IL

27 December, 2021

1:30 PM

Description

DARIEN, IL — Attendance records show that Cynthia Hanson, a Hinsdale High School District 86 board member, has been showing up. Those present can see her. And her voice can be heard on the district's videos. But with one exception, Hanson has not been seen in the meeting videos for months. She is sitting just outside the frame. In an October meeting, Hanson got her proverbial 15 minutes of fame when half of her body could be seen in the video. By the next session, she was excluded again. Hanson is not alone. The camera operator rarely points the lens in a different direction, even when others are speaking — whether they be administrators, teachers, students or public commenters. At one meeting in July, though, the camera operator did point the lens in the direction of student-athletes being honored. Shortly after, the operator shifted the lens to a lawyer speaking to the board about open records issues. But those are distinct exceptions. For nearly all meetings, the camera stays in one position for hours on end, with the operator always on hand. In the fall, this lack of camera movement drew a critical comment during public input. A resident suggested the district do more to capture what's going on in meetings. Other board members also have been cut out of the frame. For their first meetings after being elected in April, members Jeff Waters and Debbie Levinthal were excluded from the camera's frame. Now, they are included most of the time, though during a November meeting, only their hands could be seen. Member Erik Held is among those seen in most videos, though only half of his body was pictured in an August meeting. Board members Terri Walker, Peggy James and Kathleen Hirsman, who are centrally positioned, have yet to be excluded from the video's frame. Sure, the camera operator could shift the lens to make sure speakers are included. But the pandemic also can be blamed for the phenomenon. The members are socially distanced at the board table, so it's more difficult to include everyone in the frame. That means those on the viewer's left (Waters and Levinthal) and right (Hanson and Held) are most vulnerable to being excluded from the camera's frame. The board has been meeting exclusively in Hinsdale South High School's library for months.