Page 10 Eve On Our The Lion’ S Be. Fetuiry 13,2009 Clone ration The Secret of Our Generation is That There Are No Secrets By Kelly Guinan — Lion’s Eye Staff Writer — kag5178@psu.edu How often do you worry about the freedoms and rights you have as an American being taken advantage of? When on the phone with your mom, asking her to pick up more Ellio’s pizza, do thoughts of wiretapping and suited FBI agents listening in cross your mind? Probably not, but for some paranoid Americans, the Patriot Act means that if walking around with a tinfoil helmet on keeps you safe from the government, then who cares about hat hair and self-image? The Bush Administration, in yet another popular move that helped them win over the country, decided to pick and choose which Americans can have all of their “God-given” rights, and furthermore decided that government officials can and will spy on anyone capable of “sus- picious activity.” Now to a college student, the above information evokes little other than a yawn, because who cares what a twenty-something wants to talk about over the phone. Well, people do care. And it won’t be just calls and e-mails being screened by mysterious FBI agents, but Facebook and MySpace sites as well. And frankly, the govern- ment probably isn’t worried about you, but others are. Employers, deans at universities, parents, teachers, etc. have all heard of social networking sites other than Match.com, and they are be- ginning to understand how much they can learn about employees, students, children, etc. through these sites. Those Sony Cybershot own- ers have one thing on their minds after the weekend: uploading pictures. But before those shots of you double-fisting Natty Light cans make it to the internet, you should think about whose monitor they’ll show up on. Sure, it’s no secret parents love spying on their kids, and they can do so easily by creating an ac- count on the aforementioned sites. So you get in trouble for drinking or smok- ing a cigarette, big deal. But then a potential employer sees those pictures, and you’re wondering why it’s been months since you graduated and you still can’t nail down a decent job. How can this happen? Simple, es- pecially if you don’t feel the need to make your profiles on Facebook and MySpace private. That is the first and easiest step to keeping your life out of the limelight. Secondly, if you apply for government employment, expect them to find a way around passwords . and blocked materials. Expect them to see every dirty secret, every sloppy night, every illegal activity contained in your Facebook albums or tagged photos. The secret of our generation is that there are no secrets. Pictures of our teenage years should be where those of our parents are: tightly bound between leather covers in photo albums resting on a bookshelf safe inside our “homes. Instead, they are in albums on the internet, a scary thing considering the types of people who can then access the pictures of us being teenagers, liv- ing life, messing up, and breaking laws. Though teenagers are meant to be rebellious, it is expected of us, we are not meant to broadcast our activities to anyone who is willing to listen or look. Tongue in cheek no longer exists; bro- ken laws are no longer subjects saved for confidential talks, soft murmers and snickers and gasps that you still haven’t got caught. Rather, when a teenager does something wrong and there are ~ pictures of the misdeed, they are judged by complete strangers and may even be prosecuted. Prosecuted. A word no poor college student can hear without the hairs on the back of their neck stand- ing up. Don’t worry, I’m sure your mom has no idea that you skipped out on your grandmother’s birthday party to go drink 40’s in a parking lot with your underage friends. But if there are pictures, and those pictures are on Fa- cebook or MySpace, and your sneaky ~ mom has an account on either website (or BOTH!), then she probably knows. So does your boss, who you faked strep throat with over the phone on Friday, then posed for pictures at some concert at the Trocadero later that night that ended up on Facebook and now you have no job. A student at the Univer- sity of Hartford reported being shocked when, in the middle of an internship interview at a prestigious law firm, the interviewer pulled out photos taken from the student’s Facebook. Is the Patriot Act to blame for not getting a job or getting in trouble with your parents or employer? No, but it does make it more likely that if you do something wrong, the people you don’t want to know can find out. It doesn’t mean your Facebook or MyS- pace will become a part of your job application unbeknownst to you, but it does mean that maybe we should think about being more honest, law-abiding citizens. And if we can’t do that, go to A.C.Moore and invest in a private photo album. vy © lule to meet with a career counselor to review Do you want to know when classes are canceled without having to watch the news or check the website? Penn State Brandywine encourages students, faculty and staff to enroll in PSUTXT, an easy and accessible system that lets you know via cell phone when classes are canceled due to weather conditions or if the cam- pus has an emergency situation. Sign. up now for PSUTXT and, ‘when: nec- : Sspey, we will send. a text message Getting Ic Together News from the Academic Advising Center CAREER FAIR IS COMING Be sure to mark your calendar for the upcoming Career / Internship Fair on March 25th. It will be held in the gym from 11:30 — 1:30. It's never too early to start networking. So start working on your resume and sched- . your resume. Stop by 112 main for more details and to schedule an appointment. UPCOMING WORKSHOPS Tuesday, Feb. 17, 11:30 in room 205 Main ~ Explore Grad School Tuesday, Feb. 24, 11:30 in room 205 Main Careers in Liberal Arts
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