USA Patriot Act

USA Patriot Act, SEVIS affect students at Georgia Highlands College

By Brian S. Armstrong
Staff Writer

The USA Patriot Act and SEVIS tracking system provide increased government access to Georgia Highlands College student information.

In the weeks after Sept. 11, 2001, the priority of law enforcement agencies was to find out who had caused the history changing attacks. To help do that they needed legislation that would allow the fast accessing of personal data and the ability to track certain people deemed "suspicious."

The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA Patriot Act) was proposed on Sept. 24, 2001. A short time later, on Oct. 26, the act was signed into law.

The act is intended to allow law enforcement authorities to obtain personal information about suspected people without "tipping off" the person in question to the fact that he or she is being looked at.

Now issues of privacy are being raised because of this act. Students' records and activities are not protected from being accessed as one might think they are.

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), written consent from a student's guardian, or the student (if over 18), is required for the release of "educational records."

There are stipulations in FERPA that allow for the information to be disclosed without consent, for example in response to lawfully issued subpoenas and health or safety emergencies.

The USA Patriot Act changes the FERPA law in that it is now legal for a person of authority to simply ask for the information, and it must be provided. It is no longer necessary to show a reason to access the information.

Another change that the act has made is that in the past if a person's records were requested that person would be notified that someone is inquiring about his or her information. Now, under the Patriot Act, the administration of the school is not allowed to tell the person in question.

Dr. Penny Wills, vice-president of student affairs said, "In keeping with what the Patriot Act is intended to do…when you tie it to terrorism it makes sense. When everything happened around Sept. 11, they knew some people had been at institutions and they were trying to find where those people were."

This aspect of the law is understandable in the context of terrorism. If a suspected terrorist is being watched by authorities and that person is notified that he or she is the focus of an investigation, the person could go into hiding, thus hindering the investigation.

Out of the context of terrorism, the potential for "big brother" style infringement is presented.

College campuses are prime targets for monitoring because of the information held and the resources a college has.

At smaller, two-year colleges such as FC, the probability of students being watched is lower than at larger universities simply because of the programs offered. For example, at larger colleges there are physics classes, nuclear reactors, etc.

But this law is going to be in existence until December 2005. In 2005 the law will come up for review and could possibly be stopped.

Before the Patriot Act will be up for re-examination, many students will be transferring to larger universities with many of the resources that might be of interest to authorities.

Debbie Holmes, library director, said that while the Internet has brought information to the fingertips of students, it has also made it very easy to track students' daily activities.

The government possesses the capability to track and trace Internet activity through software known simply as "Carnivore," which lets agents intercept emails and track the websites visited by a person.

The fact that Georgia Highlands College is the "most wired two-year school" makes students very susceptible to programs like "Carnivore."

Almost all of the computers on campus require students to enter their ID before logging onto the Internet. All activity is linked to a students ID, making it extremely easy for that information to be linked to any given student. This fact has raised privacy issues around campus.

The USA Patriot Act allows agents to use software like "Carnivore" to track and trace students if they feel it is necessary. They no longer need a court issued subpoena or a reason to install these tracking devices, only suspicions of terrorist activities.

Software with the capability of intercepting email and Internet activities does not have a way to decipher which information is relevant to the investigation. The result is a "net" type of surveillance in which all information is gathered, including information that might not be relevant to the investigation, such as credit card numbers, personal emails and websites visited.

Along with the new laws of the USA Patriot Act comes a new system for tracking foreign students.

This new system from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, named SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), is being implemented at college campuses around the country.

This new system is a device used to track foreign students. SEVIS is a part of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act, which was passed last May.

Colleges are required to begin the SEVIS system, or the ability to enroll foreign students will be taken away from the institution.

According to Wills, the new SEVIS software will be installed at Floyd College by January 2003.