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
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