Parents Weekend

The investigation into the disappearance of five students confronts the idea that law enforcement is responsible for public safety, but is often hindered by limitations meant to protect people’s privacy. In Parents Weekend, three broad categories serve as vehicles for this idea: celebrity, college campuses, and modern technology. Through them, Finlay explores the opposition between an individual’s right to privacy and law enforcement’s efforts to preserve public safety, examining the challenges of striking a balance between the two.

In Finlay’s novel, public figures, such as Cynthia and Ken, who contend with intense scrutiny of their public lives, take measures to protect themselves that impose a similar violation of privacy on those around them. For example, Cynthia’s security team performs background checks on the capstone students and their families without their permission. When the students’ disappearance escalates into a media frenzy, everyone involved gets a taste of fame and the ways it erodes their privacy. Exploitative journalists harass them, strangers film them and post about them online, and wannabe sleuths make wild accusations that harm their reputations—all of them justify these violations by citing public safety concerns.

Finlay’s university setting and focus on parents of college freshmen taps into the anxieties that come with a child’s transition into adulthood and independence, allowing him to explore the tension between necessary safety precautions and egregious or voyeuristic surveillance. College campuses must navigate the fine line between implementing measures to keep students safe while still respecting their autonomy and privacy as young adults. The novel suggests that university politics and abuses of power distort their ability to keep the students safe. Natasha’s conflict with Professor Turlington exemplifies the conflicting priorities that come into play. When Natasha files a formal, anonymous report of sexual harassment against Professor Turlington, the campus police compromise Natasha’s anonymity by informing Professor Turlington of her identity, a violation of her privacy that exposes her to danger. Their investigation also exonerates him, which exposes a lack of due diligence once his guilt is revealed. The administration chooses to protect a faculty member at the expense of a student’s privacy and safety.

The novel also draws attention to modern technology, using the challenges it poses to privacy as well as the aid it offers criminal investigators to create narrative suspense. Keller describes cell phones as tracking devices that everyone voluntarily carries. Despite this ominous description, the text demonstrates emerging laws that protect people from invasive use of their private data. For example, a recent legal precedent makes it more difficult for Keller to obtain warrants for geofence data that could help her locate the students. Through subtext, the novel critiques the motives of various sources of information and their level of cooperation with the investigation that will save five students’ lives. When a FedEx driver gives Keller access to the videos from his truck, Keller describes him as the exception to the rule: “Not everybody is a George G. Peacoat from FedEx who doesn’t bow to the almighty Corporate” (194). Her portrayal of Peacoat as a hero willing to oppose corporate interests suggests that in some contexts, like this one, privacy and safety are not equally important despite her belief that they should be.