Newsstand - Feds want to create massive database of college students




studentff
Dec 1, 04, 12:53 am
I may get dinged/demoted to OMNI for posting this :) but I think it's highly relevant to travel given the current environment of "Secure Flight"-like programs that create dossiers on innocent Americans.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/11/30/us_eyes_collection_of_college_student_data/


Under the new system proposed by the National Center for Education Statistics at the Department of Education, each student enrolled in college would have a computer record that included name, address, birth date, gender, race, and Social Security number. It would then track field of study, credits, tuition paid, and financial aid received and would follow the student if he or she transferred or dropped out and later reenrolled.



The Department of Education says students' privacy would not be violated because the department would not share the information with anyone else, including law enforcement. But opponents worry that that promise could quickly crumble in the post-9/11 environment.

''I simply don't believe that statisticians at the Department of Education will have the political power to prevent subsequent use of this by interested parties who will have a lot more sway," Flanagan said.


Talk about the potential for mission creep. In 30-40 years they'd have the groundwork for intellectual dossiers on nearly every well-educated American to merge with the CAPPS travel dossiers and blacklists that the DHS/TSA is implementing.


SPN Lifer
Dec 2, 04, 3:56 am
Better not cut any classes. :eek:

Aren't they already doing this for those holding student visas?

I wonder if this would have affected the Vietnam War protests had it been in place then.

GDIW
Dec 2, 04, 6:51 pm
Don't kid yourself.
The feds are continually making massive databases of everyone.


elCheapoDeluxe
Dec 2, 04, 9:58 pm
I hear the feds are going to make us file a report of our social security numbers, jobs, income, family members, charitable contributions, mortgages, investments, lottery winnings, and even more! Every year!

GUWonder
Dec 2, 04, 11:21 pm
"Good" tool for the "special skills draft". ;)

Doppy
Dec 3, 04, 11:19 am
This sounds like a terrible idea.

Why is it that every "improvement" or "new idea" the government has these days is just a new plan to track people? :td:



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