They tried various solutions: asking students to be quiet, evicting
offenders, and designating one room as the “quiet study” area.
The students countered that they had been promised a student center
and since it had not yet been provided, it should be acceptable to
use the library for socializing. The librarians still felt that the
library was meant for quiet study. By the end of last year, no solution
had been found.
This year, the administration decided to try a different strategy;
that’s when they purchased “Ma’at.”
What, exactly, is Ma’at? Ma’at is an electronic noise-sensing
device, which lets you know when the noise in the room has passed
a certain level. The librarian can set the level and if the ambient
noise is below that level, Ma’at displays a green light. When
the noise level approaches the set limit, the green light changes
to yellow, as a warning. When the noise level surpasses the acceptable
level, Ma’at displays a red light and everyone is kicked out
of the library!
My daughter explained (with much rolling of eyes) that the librarians
had named it Ma’at after the Egyptian god of balance whose
duties included setting order in the universe out of the chaos of
creation.
My daughter complained that when she studies in the library, she
has trouble concentrating — not, mind you, because of all of
the chattering — but because she has to keep one eye on Ma’at’s
colored lights at all times. She fears that if a student is sitting
close to the sensor and coughs at an inopportune time, this would
be enough to make Ma’at see red. What, she asked, will happen
when cold season sets in?
The school is known for encouraging students to think for themselves,
to question, and to speak up. Not surprisingly, they did just that.
A group of students banned together, taking their case to Facebook.
They claimed that the installation of Ma’at smacked of Big
Brother and that the students were being deprived of their right
to meet and socialize. Furthermore, the school culture was slowly
but surely changing — becoming more rigorously academic, pressure-filled
and rule-oriented and less open-minded, student-centered and creative.
Students were encouraged to leave their opinions and to join in an
act of civil disobedience in protest of Ma’at.
The idea was that every day, the students would purposely cause
Ma’at to flash the red light. Because everyone would be asked
to leave the library, no one would be able to use this brand-new,
gorgeous facility. They would make a mockery of Ma’at to the
point where the administration would have to rethink their policy
and return, it is presumed, to old-fashioned shushing.
My daughter was patient for a time as she explained this all to
me, but was not amused by all of my questions (Do they sell a home
model?) nor my offer to enter my opinions on Facebook, informing
me that the cause of exercising one’s freedom of speech didn’t
extend to meddlesome, embarrassing, ill-advised parents.
Meanwhile, Ma’at sits on the library wall passing judgment,
unaware that she might have created more noise than silence.
