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Student Rights Eroding
9/28/99
Mike Hudack
Editor-in-Chief
In the wake of Columbine and other school shootings students rights have been quickly eroding in the recent weeks. Examples such as the student ID tags which use social security numbers and cameras in schools are everywhere. Computers are now beginning to become a big part of this problem.
Many school districts now monitor studentsī Internet activity, studentsī e-mail and studentsī other computer-related activities. John Squire, a school administrator in Utah, has been instrumental in implementing such a system in several school districts in the state. "Parents are becoming more and more concerned about their childīs Internet use," he explained to OSAll.
The measures seem to be severe, however. Some schools such as Scarsdale Middle School in Scarsdale, NY use systems to allow not only network monitoring but screen monitoring as well. "We can see any studentsī monitor picture at any time anywhere in the school," explained a school technician in Scarsdale. The system also includes the standard network and URL monitoring tools used in schools across the country.
"If a student is using the network inappropriately we can find out who it is and shut him down in seconds," the technician continued. Students at the Middle School donīt see too much of a problem with the system, apparently. "Itīs kinda cool," said one.
Some schools use filtering software such as Netnanny or the like. Often schools require "licensing" to use network facilities, such as at Fairfield High School in Fairfield, CT. There students have to take a fourty-five minute Internet Acceptable Use Policy course and then sign a hard copy of the AUP. Afterwards they are issued a sticker to be attached to their student ID.
The trend towards Internet monitoring follows scary revelations from many who claim that bomb-making instructions and the like are readily available on the Web. Pornography and "inappropriate" materials are just part of the problem, explains a school administrator from Tahoma, Washington.
Security is just one of those concerns. When seeking permission to hook a laptop into the school network via a half-used hub I received staunch resistance from the administration at my school. They explained that "security issues" were the reason. I tried to explain that I could do just as much damage from one of their computers or from Japan, but they simply didnīt listen.
Real-time monitoring and censorship products will only continue to grow. At some point, however, students and parents need to wake up and smell the coffee. In one incident students were forced to wear ID tags around their necks in school. One student promptly discovered that a barcode on the ID translated directly to the social security number of the students -- without a bit of encryption. His father is planning legal action against the school system.
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