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This discussion is closed. This is a transcript.
Conflicting rights at private collegesAuthor: Colloquy ModeratorDate: 02-19-04 10:37 A recent court ruling in Georgia addressed the question of whether private colleges are obliged to open their campus-police logs to public scrutiny under state open-records laws. The judge said that private colleges must do so because they serve public functions. Advocates for increased access to campus crime information hailed the ruling, even though some critics have said students' privacy rights might be violated by such disclosures. Which is more important, students' right to privacy or their need for better information about campus safety? What position should colleges take in this dispute? Read more ... Re: Conflicting rights at private colleges Author: Stan Dura Date: 02-25-04 07:13 This ruling surprises me, frankly. But maybe I shouldn't be surprised that in this age of information, we seem to think more is better at any and all cost. I don't think anyone can disagree that constituents of a University or College community have the right to access and the need for information to make informed choices about their personal safety. What we can argue is, "what information is actually needed in order to make a reasonably informed decision?" As a society, I do not believe we have the level of development and critical thought as a whole in order to utlize sensitive information effectively and ethically in a consistent manner. Our society is ripe with examples of the misuse and fabrication of information motivated by greed, ignorance, revenge, ambition, etc. Collectively, we do not consistently demonstrate the mental and emotional discipline needed in order to have access to and not abuse information,such that it neither directly or indirectly breaches a victim's privacy or impedes or destroys the chances of a successful investigation. To be honest, I do not think I have the consistent level of critical thought and self control necessary to freely access sensitive information within police logs and not make mistakes that might lead to physical, emotional, or financial harm to others. I don't know many people, if any, that do. Indeed, the very concept behind having laws and law enforcement is that humans lack the ability to consistently manage their behavior appropriately. Giving free access to sensitive information is somewhat contrary to that perspective. Thus, it is reasonable to expect and demand that there be some level of limited censorship involving the discrimination between information that is absolutely necessary in order for a person to protect his or herself, information that is reasonably necessary to do so, and information this is not necessary. If not? What next? Residence Life staff on campuses help maintain public order and investigate incidents which may constitute crimes. Judicial affairs officers do so as well. Academic Affairs officers might investigate incidents of plagarism that constitute federal violations of copyright law. Would they be required to open up their incident reports to the public, thus breaching FERPA's protection of student information? Similarly, police records may give identifiable details of minors involved in crimes, even when names are removed. There has to be a line. Having information is very important to maintain our safety. But is is having information that does nothing more than satisfy our various needs of control, inclusion, gossip, ratings, profits, etc. more important than the dignity and emotional safety of a minor or a victimized student? I hope not. And I hope future courts will have the foresight and wisdom to recognize this and help develop effective ways to make these kinds of distinctions between the information we do and do not need to keep ourselves safe. Re: Conflicting rights at private colleges Author: John Garner Date: 02-25-04 10:13 This is not a good thing. Maybe the name should be changed from "Campus Police" to "Secret Police." How typical of the State of Indiana to respond to a reasonable request in this manner. Let us first protect the rights of the perpetrators, the victims can in that manner be victimized twice. Re: Conflicting rights at private colleges Author: Justin Date: 03-30-04 21:33 The problem is we're not talking about residence life or committees on academic integrity. We're talking about fully authorized police forces that are allowed to operate in secret. They carry weapons, can make arrests, etc -- but we're not allowed to know what they're doing? |
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