On Thursday, April 8, the IUS Civil Liberties Union hosted their annual spring forum about students’ right of privacy at school and on the Internet. It was located in the third floor reading gallery of the IUS Library.
A panel of speakers each talked about students’ rights of privacy in certain areas and answered questions from the audience afterward. Each speaker was allotted 10 to 15 minutes to talk. About 70 people attended the forum.
Julie Bland, president of the IUS CLU and political science senior, said the purpose of the forum was to educate students.
“A lot of students don’t understand what they can and can’t do on campus,” Bland said. “Basically, we’re here to inform.”
Seuth Chaleunphonh, dean of Campus Life and acting director of Residence Life and Housing, Danny Clements, IUS Help Desk technician, John Doyle, associate professor of computer science, and Gil Holmes, executive director of the American CLU of Indiana, were all on the panel.
Thomas Kotulak, faculty adviser of the IUS CLU and associate professor of political science, moderated the forum.
Kathleen Meredith, general studies junior, said she learned a lot from the forum.
“They said some important stuff and stuff I didn’t know about,” Meredith said.
Chaleunphonh talked about students’ right of privacy on campus and in the lodges. Chaleunphonh said a student can see any document with their name on it, but the university has to have enough time to get it ready.
Chaleunphonh also said if a student is involved in an incident and the IUS Police are called, then record of that will be in the student’s school disciplinary record. A student will need to give someone permission in order for them to access their disciplinary record. A student involved with local or state police will have their information put into a public record, which can be view by anyone without permission.
Chaleunphonh also talked about parent notification. If a student is under 21 years old and claimed as a dependent on their parent’s taxes, the school will have to notify the parents of any misconduct.
Many of the audience members were students who live in the residence halls. Chaleunphonh talked about their right of privacy in their rooms. Because the lodges are university property, student permission to enter the room isn’t required, but Chaleunphonh said many of the employees prefer a resident be in the room. Chaleunphonh assured the residents that employees won’t be looking for items that would cause a student to get into trouble.
“[We] report what we see in plain view,” Chaleunphonh said.
Students’ right of privacy on the Internet was another topic discussed at the forum. Bland said there is a need to warn students about the dangers of the Internet, such as where their information will go and who can access it.
“A lot of people don’t realize the implications of what they are sharing on the Internet,” Bland said.
Clements talked about what students can do to protect themselves on the Internet.
He stressed not to share your login information or passphrase with anyone. He also recommended students to pick a strong passphrase.
“’My name is Danny’ is a horrid passphrase,” Clements said.
By AMANDA FRENCH
Staff Writer
aafrench@imail.iu.edu