ONE OF the best things about college life is newfound independence. Finally, our parents aren't here to look over our shoulders and watch everything we do. They might not be able to see what we're reading and whom we're talking to, but now the government can. Thanks to the so-called Patriot Act, the FBI now faces fewer legal obstacles in obtaining personal information via electronic media.
Passed in October, the act has prompted confusion all around, particularly on college campuses, where its application is anything but clear. What is clear is that the bill raises concerns over what colleges can and must share with federal authorities and what they should do when faced with such inquiries. To ensure the privacy of students as far as it is legally possible, colleges and universities need to develop concrete plans for dealing with federal inquiries.
The Patriot Act is a confusing conglomeration of laws pushed through Congress following Sept. 11. These laws do not provide specific defense against terrorist attacks, but they do allow government officials easier access to computer records.
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According to the law, federal agents can access stored voicemail without a warrant. If asked by an Internet provider, they also can follow all electronic movements of a hacker and install technology to follow Internet traffic. The law also forbids the disclosure that federal agents have requested "business records," which could include library records.
Colleges and universities traditionally have been staunch defenders of privacy and the Patriot Act is raising concerns, particularly among librarians. According to a Mar. 1 Chronicle of Higher Education article, librarians are concerned that the government will be able to see what their patrons are reading, looking up and checking out. This concern is legitimate.
Most students have little to hide in terms of what they do at the library. The specifics of what their records show are not troubling. What is troubling is that the student would not even be informed that the government was watching his records. For a bill that seeks to encroach on privacy itself, this is overly secretive, and it opens the door to other searches.
The Patriot Act has been passed and, presently, there are no challenges to its constitutionality. The power the law grants to federal agents is fairly minor, but it is a step toward less privacy and more federal monitoring and, as such, should be viewed with extreme caution.
The first step toward limiting the law's power is to raise awareness. According to the article, few professors and even fewer students really understand what the law means, if they even know it exists. In an age when security is heightened and privacy is at risk, it is important for everyone to pay attention to laws that could become invasive.
Staff also must be aware of the law, and they must know what to do if information is requested under the law. Cornell University is one of few schools with a concrete policy to deal with such inquiries. Cornell employees have been directed to contact a security advisor or policy advisor before giving out information. If questions still remain, a lawyer will be contacted. The University and colleges around the country must develop similar plans so that the law is not abused.
First, staff and student employees have to be educated about the law, and about whom they should contact if information is requested. Staff who are not aware of what is and is not considered private, particularly with regard to University and library records, may be inclined to give more information than federal agents have the right to request.
A plan for how records are kept, and when they are destroyed, also should be in place. Most libraries destroy records soon after books are returned. If this is policy - and it should be - there must be an effort to ensure that records are destroyed regularly and thoroughly.
The Chronicle reports an intense interest among librarians in protecting the integrity of their patrons' records. This is heartening. Such an effort is the only way to make sure that the world of higher education remains a place of free discourse. Otherwise, the government will know more about our actions than our parents do.
(Megan Moyer's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at mmoyer@cavelierdaily.com.)
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