UW Officials Had Reservations About Invading Students’ Privacy for Governor
Boy, these folks spent a lot of time and effort figuring out how to support the governor’s political agenda.
University of Wisconsin-Madison officials were concerned about asking low-income students to participate in a press conference with Gov. Jim Doyle but they did so anyway, e-mails show.
Republicans have blasted UW-Madison for helping set up the Democratic governor’s press conference last week on the steps of the student union in which he criticized “extreme Republicans” for blocking a budget.
[...]
A university official sent an e-mail to 33 students on the waiting list recruiting them for the event. The e-mail stressed their participation was completely voluntary and would have no impact on their aid.
E-mail records released this week show university officials initially expressed reservations after receiving a request from the governor’s office to contact those students.
“Honestly, I don’t know how comfortable I would be soliciting people in that position for their participation,” UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas wrote in an e-mail to a colleague.
Michelle Curtis, associate director of the Office of Student Financial Services, later e-mailed the request to students and had them contact Lucas if they were interested in participating.
[...]
UW-Madison communications director Amy Toburen also had expressed concerns about contacting students on the list.
“We can get students there, but probably not a (Wisconsin Higher Education Grant) student unless they have already been featured in a news report,” she wrote in an e-mail.
[...]
The records show the press conference was first supposed to happen in late September but was canceled by the governor’s office at the last minute. That angered financial aid employees, who had lined up students to speak.
“I hate that when we look like the idiots,” Fischer wrote to a colleague.
Looks to me like the students were supporting their own agenda: getting enough aid to continue in school. As far as the UW folks, it seems to me like they at least went into it thoughtfully, expressing concern over the appropriateness.
Posted by scott on October 19, 2007 at 0934 hrs
This was plainly wrong of the govermor to even make this request. These student wouldl certainly feel coerced to attend.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1011 hrs
Christ, it’s not like the governor called them personally on the phone. They were sent an email by some pencil-pusher at UW. An email which clearly went to a number of people, and which clearly indicated that their participation had no bearing on their aid.
Posted by scott on October 19, 2007 at 1016 hrs
I admit this is not analogous but as the parent of a student in the UW system, I can barely communicate with them about my son because of their broad interpretation of “privacy” and refusal to consider any deviation. Here we have a lot of people “expressing concern” about breaking a privacy rule, but not doing anything about it.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1039 hrs
Why, did the UW give out FERPA protected information to someone? Looks to me as if the students identified themselves as students by their own freely chosen actions.
Posted by scott on October 19, 2007 at 1041 hrs
The Governor’s office would not have known which students to target without the help of the University.
What if it had been a drug company saying, “We’d like to get some students out with us to tout a new and safer birth control pill. Please send us the names of young women who have come into the University clinic for any sort of birth control medication.”
What business is it of the governor to go send the University to do his bidding? If they needed low-income students to support their cause, they can buy advertising space in the newspaper or put up signs.
Posted by David on October 19, 2007 at 1057 hrs
The governors office did not “target” anyone. It asked the UW if it would ask the relevant students if they wanted to voluntarily participate. The UW did not give the governor’s office anyone’s name or financial aid status.
Posted by scott on October 19, 2007 at 1100 hrs
It asked the UW if it would ask the relevant students if they wanted to voluntarily participate.
And it was still wholly inappropriate for the University to comply with the request. The University is there to be a University, not to be a free resource for political and campaign issues for the Governor’s office.
The personnel man-hours spent working on this for Doyle should be registered as a political donation. And I would suspect, this being a State agency, it is illegal for those employees to do political work while on State time.
And then there is the privacy issue. Even if by proxy these students were targeted due to their income status, it is an invasion of their privacy.
Posted by David on October 19, 2007 at 1118 hrs
It’s the university’s purview to see that their students receive the aid they need to continue their studies. Obviously it’s in the student’s interests, as well.
That’s not to say that I don’t see your point. I definitely do. However, I find talk of privacy issues and the continuing use of the word “targeted” to be completely inappropriate.
Posted by scott on October 19, 2007 at 1128 hrs
Soliciting in this way doesn’t pass a smell test.
Imagine if they were handing over the names and addresses of every public high school student to the local military recruiters! These College Republicans would rail just as hard against that, right?
Posted by John Foust on October 19, 2007 at 1144 hrs
Interesting point. But it must be repeated: no names were “handed over” to anyone.
Posted by scott on October 19, 2007 at 1146 hrs
Yes, obviously the office of financial aid knows which students are waiting for loans based on their income level. In this case, their undo-ing was due to the email trail. If it had been aid counselors casually and verbally mentioning the upcoming press conferences to loan candidates who looked Democratic, we probably would’ve never heard about this. Where do you think these poster-kids come from, at any press conference, left or right? It’s all PR.
A long time ago, the UW class registration forms had a series of checkboxes related to your possible personal interests: sports, clubs, religious affiliation, etc. Fill in those ovals and you stood a good chance of being solicited by various campus groups, as your name and address were handed over to them. I wonder if they still do that.
Posted by John Foust on October 19, 2007 at 1155 hrs
Soliciting in this way doesn’t pass a smell test
Holy crap - John and I agree on something
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1228 hrs
And where might you stand on my second suggestion? Think the military should be given special access to the names and addresses of high school kids? Their advertising targets the low-income, too. What about the policy of allowing non-school-sponsored groups to send flyers home with kids?
Posted by John Foust on October 19, 2007 at 1310 hrs
It’s the university’s purview to see that their students receive the aid they need to continue their studies. Obviously it’s in the student’s interests, as well.
So now anything that might “help” a student (the value of that “help” of course to be determined by someone other than the students themselves) makes it open season on any political party, corporation, or elected official to request resources from the University?
Ok, Bring ‘em on. Military recruiters, oil companies - after all, the students need jobs. That is the real goal of completing one’s education right? How GOP PAC’s & politicians focused on education, family planning? Bring ‘em all, right Scott? The University should spend its time catering to anyone who might “help” a student?
Now in addition to email spam for Viagra, the students can get email spam for a host of other issues.
From: University Health Clinic
To: student
Subject: Family Planning
Hi, Our records show that you recently visited the campus clinic for a pregnancy test. Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone. But we’d like you to know that Wisconsin Right To Life has asked for student volunteers to join them at a press conference to support passage of a legislative measure dealing with family planning.or
From: University Admission and Financial Aid Departments
To: student
Subject: Taxes
Hi, Our records show that you come from a low-income background. Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone. We (our entire department) just peruses everybody’s records and trades leads amongst each other like this). Anyway, the Wisconsin GOP is holding a press conference to support lowering income tax rates for people of you and your family’s income bracket. They’re looking for student volunteers to appear at this press conference to help support the issue.I’m sure you would support these kinds of emails, right Scott? Same thing. If it’s in the student’s interest, as determined by someone who has access to confidential student records, these kinds of emails and help to those groups is perfectly acceptable. Right?
Posted by David on October 19, 2007 at 1316 hrs
I would have zero problem with military recruiters coming to high schools to present. I do have issue with getting address records from the schools. However, there have been many demographics released that would refute your “the military is only for poor and dumb kids” suggestion.
As a parent of school-aged children, I don’t have any issue at all with flyers being sent home with my kids for non-school-sponsored groups. Schools can’t sponsor everything, nor do I agree with everything the school does sponsor. If I’m not interested, I throw it away. I don’t raise a stink or threaten to sue.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1319 hrs
Incorrect header here is confusing many. UW did not “invade privacy”—read the story, read carefully. The UW “expressed reservations” until it determined that it could follow FERPA rules, and it did, Another Jed—it is not allowed to give out information on students (beyond basic “directory information,” as FERPA puts it) to non-campus people to contact students. (Yes, it’s maddening that parents can’t get students’ grades or health reports, but they’re adults by law . . . and the only hope then is that they’re students who keep talking with their folks.)
The governor’s office did not contact the students, David. You wish it did, unless you’re not reading the story and just guessing. But it didn’t. The campus itself contacted students, within the law—as the financial aid office certainly had to do before this, to let students know that their aid was held up by no state budget.
So if there is any issue here at all, it is the content of the emails, not the emailing by UW staff to students . . . which happens daily. If the UW didn’t contact students to say their aid was held up—now that would be a story.
Oh, and Anon, the UW gets lots of such requests, mostly to sell stuff to students. Here you have a governor’s office trying to get financial aid to Wisconsin residents. That’s why so few were involved in this, since this was at the Madison campus. Other UW campuses and tech colleges have far more Wisconsin residents, and 1000s of students are waiting statewide.
And again, they are Wisconsin residents—like the constituent of Rep. Nelson’s who may not be in college much longer without the aid, his motivation for sitting in the Capitol waiting to vote on a state budget with a student aid line item for this year, since there are more students than could be covered by the amount in last year’s budget. But at this rate, it all will be solved, because a lot of them won’t be students much longer.
And Wisconsin will continue to be below national norms in college-educated residents. And we call that progress.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1325 hrs
The governor’s office did not contact the students, David.
Yes they did - by proxy.
...within the law So, a state employee spending on-the-clock time shilling for the an elected official’s political causes is “within the law”? Well we may have to look back at over recent criminal convictions in this arena.
So if there is any issue here at all, it is the content of the emails,
Yes. That is the issue. It’s one thing for the University to email a student about official goings-on with respect to grades, tuition status, etc. But to start throwing in solicitations for political causes crosses a line. Even if they think it’s in the best interest of the student, it should not be done. It’s a subjective issue that should stay out of the realm of official communication between the U and the student.
Posted by David on October 19, 2007 at 1351 hrs
“By proxy” happens all the time and is legal—messages from outside organizations renting campus facilities to run campus events, including political organizations. As long as a teacher is not one-sided and sends none or all, isn’t it good to inform the future generation of the issues that it will be handling for us? Or is that “shilling” by a professor to promote involvement in politics? What about journalism students assigned—so actually required—to cover political events for their classwork?
And businesses get information sent this way to students, too, such as bookstores—on campuses but not run by campuses as well as off campuses. And what’s good for business is good for Wisconsin, etc., right? C’mon, the issue of using email is just not the issue here, no matter Owen’s misleading header.
The issue is the content, we agree. I still think this was legal—but not fair and balanced, which really is the issue for you and a lot of others here, I think. So it ought to have been handled the way that teachers do: Send no information or all or send information from all sides.
So the fair thing would be for the UW to let Huebsch send these 33 (as I recall) students information on why there is no budget and no state financial aid for them as yet. But he better not include his home phone number, huh? However, students willing to engage him on it certainly could use this as a learning experience. And that ought to be the test for content of campus emails: does it have to do with learning?
Financial aid, probably yes—but it wouldn’t hurt for students now to know where it comes from, for when they pay more in taxes. (Note: Students needing this aid are taxpayers, too—as this and most forms of aid ask first how much the student or parents are contributing to their education in the first place.)
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1432 hrs
“So the fair thing would be for the UW to let Huebsch send these 33 (as I recall) students information on why there is no budget and no state financial aid for them as yet.”
No Kay, then they would be giving out private info. There could have been additional information like the Republicans made a fair (politically motivated to embarass the Dems, but fair) offer to pass the school budget piecemeal so that students would not be left without funds and led to believe that only one side of the budget debate is responsible when that is wholly untrue.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1653 hrs
Yeh, let me rephrase to follow FERPA, as the UW did:
The fair thing would be for the UW to let Huebsch send the UW information for the UW to send the information to the students, as only the UW can, since the UW cannot send Huebsch their eaddresses. . . . etc.
But don’t worry, those students who seem at all aware of the state budget problems apparently believe the Republicans, per blogs and stories quoting students. The rest—well, it’s midterm time.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 19, 2007 at 1718 hrs
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