page 4 - The Behrend College Collegian. Thursday, February 26, 1998 The Behrend College Collegian published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College Features Editor Kristi McKim Layout Editor Nathan Wilt hell Business Manager Dana Greenhouse Advisors Alan Parker Robert Speel Postal Information: The Collegian is published weekly by the students of Penn State Erie, The Behrend College; First Floor, The J. Elmer Reed Union Building, Station Road, Erie, PA 16563. The Collegian can he reached by calling (814) 898-6488 or (814) 898-6019 (FAX). ISSN 1071-9288. Reed Commons renovations beneficial in the long run For all those students who make use of the Reed Commons for studying purposes or for anyone who has gone to a function held there such as the Behrend Speaker Series, the news of the closing of the facility on April Ist affects you. However, aside from the inconve nience of the temporary loss of an area to study, this is primarily a good thing for the Commons in the long run. The Commons is being closed so it can undergo much needed improvements. A new sound system will be in cluded to accommodate the acoustics of that room. Anyone who has seen a speaker in that room knows how ter rible the sound can be. The new sound system will hopefully solve this prob lem. The lighting will be changed and the room as a whole will be given a much more welcoming appearance Your privacy for sale Los Angeles Times Editorial The indiscriminate gathering and sale of personal information, includ ing Social Security numbers, have made many Americans unwittingly vulnerable to "identity theft" and other fraud in this age of computer ized databases. Privacy concerns had triggered a Federal Trade Commission study, but the results proved to be disappoint ing. Creeping intrusion into our pri vate affairs should he high on Washington's vigilance list. Consum ers are being told by the FTC that they will be protected under new privacy principles. But the standards are be ing set by the companies that gather and sell our personal data for profit, ' and compliance is voluntary. The FTC has decided to let the In dividual Reference Services Group, which represents the data industry, have a try at self-regulation, a dubi ous decision. In contrast, the Federal Communications Commission pro hibits telephone companies from us ing data on customers' calling habits to market new services unless the cus tomers approve such use. Information that can be used to identify and lo cate a person or verify identity has always been publicly available in gov ernment records, real estate records, telephone directories and other docu ments. Businesses known as "look up" services or locators collect per sonal data and now, with computer technology, can easily compile it for sale to private clients. The new technology has made it possible to combine information from multiple sources more quickly and sell it cheaply. Increasing access to data from non-public sources like credit reporting agencies has raised the blinds on privacy. The "non-pub lic" information the services provide can include Social Security numbers, dates of birth and mothers' maiden Editor in Chief Andrea M Zatfina Managing Editor Anne M. Rayne Sports Editor Dylan Stewart Associate Editor Brian Ashbaugh Advertising Manager RJ Frelin Photography Editor Jason Blake Letter Policy: The Collegian encourages letters to the editor. Letters should include the address, phone number, semester standing and major of the writer. Writers can mail their letters to behrcoll2@aol.com. Letters must be received no later than spm Tuesday for inclusion in that week's issue. both for study purposes and large group functions. From the beginning of April to the end of the semester the Catholic cam pus ministry will be holding its ser vices in the Reed Lecture Hall. But beginning next year, the improve ments to the Commons will also of fer a more welcoming environment for that sort of thing. Overall, the long term improve ments made to the Commons will definitely outweigh the temporary unavailability of the facility at the end of this semester. Currently, the Com mons has a very impersonal, almost hospital-like presence to it, and if the changes go according to plan, it will be much more widely used and ap preciated in the future. names, authenticating data that can be used for fraudulent purposes. Federal, state and local government agencies use the services in law enforcement - - to track down debtors, for instance, or in the prosecution of financial crimes The private sector subscribes to the data bases to verify information and investigate potential fraud. Ordinary citizens -- and would-he "identity thieves" -- can get some of the same information by using the Internet. One online service is reported to have of fered its subscribers a person's Social Security number, birth date and tele phone number for $1.50. Imagine what a crook could do with that. Across the country, the privacy standards, which take effect next year, tend to favor data service companies over individuals. For example, the companies say they support restric tions on the sale of authenticating in formation like Social Security num bers from non-public sources but al low distribution of this same informa tion to so-called qualified buyers. It's unclear precisely which cus tomers fall into this category, but clearly fees must be a factor. The FTC correctly pointed to some shortcom ings in the industry's approach, which would essentially provide no controls on the uses of public records and pub licly available information. Mean while, data service companies are not required to maintain audit trails of records accessed by information us- These audit trails would be particu larly important in tracing seemingly legitimate entities that obtain personal data for illegal uses. Despite these concerns the FTC insists that the in dustry plan is "more comprehensive and far-reaching than any other vol untary, industry-wide program in the information sector." That assertion may be still another reason to worry. Does Police and Safety go too far? Often, there can be a very fine line between the privacy of citizens and the protection of the police. There are disputes between the two about how far the police should go to protect citi zens. Recently, Heather Smaltz, 04 DUS, was questioned about street signs in her room. She stated that she saw Police and Safety officers looking in the windows of Niagara, where she lives. According to Smaltz, they saw the sign hanging in her room and went inside to question her about it. Her sign had a UPC symbol on it, indicat ing that she had bought the sign and not stolen it. After questioning her, the officers left without her sign. Smaltz also stated that she saw other signs in the back of the officers' vehicle that had apparently been confiscated from other students' rooms. Bill Donahue, Director of Police Iraq accord is no sure win for U.S. By Mark Kagan=Special to Newsday The United Nations secretary gen eral says Iraq has agreed to allow free and unfettered UN inspections of all sites in Iraq without any time limits. And President Clinton has said he is prepared to give the accord a chance. The reluctant American acceptance is sure to stimulate both the advocates for the use of diplomacy only and the advocates for the use of force to claim victory. We can also be sure, to para phrase an old Neil Diamond song, that "we've been this way before and we're sure to be this way again." Iraq has already agreed numerous times since 1991 to free and unfet tered access to all sites in Iraq by the inspection teams of the UN Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM). The reason there have been so many agreements is that Iraq has simulta neously engaged in a systematic, mas sive and blatant program of deception,. deceit, denial, diversion and evasion against UNSCOM. This program has three aims: Preventing or delaying the destruction of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles, and the infrastructure for building them; sabotaging or negating UNSCOM's inspection and verification proce dures; and wearing down the interna tional consensus and will to enforce Iraq's compliance with UN resolu tions and to maintain sanctions absent that compliance. The program's centerpiece has been the construction, at a cost of billions of dollars, of more than 60 "presiden tial sites" (not just the eight that the Iraqis have offered) around the coun try. At these sites, as well as in doz ens of other "sensitive" military and security installations, which have been barred to UNSCOM inspections in blatant violation of UN resolutions, Iraq has created a "parallel universe" where it could continue or resume its forbidden weapons programs. If Iraq succeeds in keeping these sites unin spected unmolested, UNSCOM and its monitoring devices will be ren dered largely useless and actually be come part of the Iraqi deception and evasion program. While Iraq's program has been sys tematic and long-term, the same can not be said for U.S. policy to Iraq. By dealing with Iraq only when Saddam Hussein causes a crisis, the Clinton administration has allowed the Per sian Gulf war coalition to fall apart, and left doubts and skepticism both domestically and especially abroad about the seriousness of Hussein's transgressions and the threat he poses. The United States has also succeeded in turning the current crisis into a question of prestige. Bomb Iraq and Hussein gains face for standing up to Washington; Iraq gains international sympathy as well as support due to civilian casualties. In addition, Hussein's weapons of mass destruction are only "dimin ished." Don't bomb Iraq, and the United States loses face and credibil ity (and Hussein keeps his weapons). Meanwhile, the United States has given Hussein months to disperse and Editorial Services, emphatically denied that officers were looking in windows for street signs. He said that they usually find signs when in the room for an unrelated incident or the residence life staff finds them in room inspections. Donahue also noted that there are very few reasons that a student should have a sign in his or her room. Smaltz was uncomfortable about the fact that she felt that officers were looking in dorm windows to find street signs. She stated that she felt that it was an invasion of privacy. Often the police report will show individuals being stopped for "suspi cious behavior." Donahue stated that there are no strict guidelines concern ing stopping people deemed "suspi cious." He went on to say that people aren't always stopped for investiga tive purposes; sometimes people seem lost or in need of assistance. In addi- hide both his unconventional and con ventional weapons and forces, while filling up potential bombing targets with civilians. In short, the Clinton ad ministration has maneuvered itself into a potential lose-lose situation While Iraq's program has been systematic and long term, the same cannot be said for U.S. policy to Iraq. By dealing with Iraq only when Saddam Hussein causes a crisis, the Clinton administration has allowed the Persian Gulf war coalition to fall apart with Iraq whether it bombs or not This has been the price of the U.S tion, officers who work at night be come accustomed to the normal hap penings at night and would notice anything out of the ordinary. It is the experience that the officers have that governs their actions. It seems that Police and Safety at tempt to use their best judgement when it comes to investigating inci dents on campus. This is shown clearly in the low crime rate on this campus. However, P &S must be very careful not to cross the line to invad ing students' privacy. The incident with the street sign has two conflict ing sides of the story. Nevertheless. the student involved felt that the of ficers were over the line and too in vasive handling her situation. There seems to be no clarification as to how the officers found out about the sign in her room. Smaltz was under the impression that the officers were look failure to pay attention to Iraq and to make sure that the rest of the world paid attention during the past seven years. It is hoped the administration has learned that U.S. policy toward Iraq can no longer be just crisis driven. It must be made very clear that vio lation by Iraq of the UN-arranged ac cord will bring swift punishment. And even if bombing attacks go forward, U.S. policy henceforth should be based on the following long-term, clear, understandable and well-publi cized points: Hussein will no longer he allowed to drag out the process of destroying his weapons of mass de struction, delaying the day that Iraq is in compliance with UN resolutions and the UN sanctions can he lifted. Denial of access to UN inspectors to any site in Iraq or harassing them in their work will result in denial of ac cess to Iraqis. The site (or a presidential palace) will be destroyed. Reports on Iraqi evasion and deception activities will no longer remain within just a small ing in her room through the windows, which would certainly make any stu dent uncomfortable. Most likely, the officers followed the correct procedure in this incident. However. the animosity that some stu dents feel towards Police and Safety about parking and other issues could lead to real problems between offic ers and students. If Police and Safety is perceived as looking for things to get students on, then student resent ment is going to grow. Obviously, some students already feel this way. It is Police and Safety's responsibil ity to maintain the fine balance be tween protection and invasion of pri vacy. That Strange House on Station Road appears every three weeks in The Collegian circle of officials and policy wonks, but will be regularly given the wid est distribution and publicity. A worldwide educational campaign to explain that these actions are being taken to relieve the suffering of the Iraqi people, because the sooner Iraq complies with the UN resolu tions, the sooner the sanctions can be lifted. The sites in Iraq that have been barred to UN inspections cover hun dreds of square miles and include hundreds of buildings (and what ever may have been buried under ground). There are thousands of Ira qis whose only job is to protect for bidden weapons from the 200-odd UNSCOM inspectors. The United States must stay in Hussein's face to make sure he gets no more chances. After seven years, it is time for the tail to stop wagging the dog. Consultant Kagan has been a mili tary analyst at Janes Information Group and an intelligence analyst at the U.S. Department of Defense. STAFF ws-54 A 'Vol-VE-P a or-; ~.•-
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers