Student Affairs On-Line The On-Line magazine about technology and Student Affairs Daniel Salter Penn State University Editor Stuart Brown StudentAffairs.com Executive Editor		Summer 2000 • Vol. 1, No. 2

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Internet Rights and Responsibilities Old Fears, New Forms Wallace Eddy Project NEThics Associate Office of Information Technology University of Maryland Another paradigm shift? In student affairs we like this concept of paradigm shift; it is almost as ubiquitous at the colon in the titles of our articles, books and presentations. With technology becoming more and more prevalent on college and university campuses, how are we in student affairs preparing ourselves to deal with this change? To what degree is the rise in the use of technology for academic and social purposes a paradigm shift? Or, is this rise in the use of technology more an issue of "old fears, new forms?" The phrase "old fears, new forms" represents the idea that technology has changed the manifestation of human behavioral patterns, but not necessarily the nature. Certainly students, faculty and administrators interact differently because of technology, but we still interact. Registration is streamlined by technology, but registration still occurs. Research is made significantly more efficient by the use of technology, but is still conducted by a human researcher. Hate speech is more easily spread through technology, but is still initiated by a person. In other words, technology only "runs" when humans ask (allow) it to run. Human interaction (be it with other human beings or with technology) is still human interaction - - and we are specialists in human dynamics. What are some of the "old fears" we in student affairs that have "morphed" into new forms? The notion of solicitation in residence halls has been around for a long time. In general, we do not care for people to have open access to our students in their living spaces to promote commercial enterprises, especially without our permission. E-mail has become a simple way of infiltrating students' personal space with such commercial information. Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE, or more commonly, SPAM) litters our e-mail servers on a daily basis. How is this different from the old fear? Through technology, various commercial enterprises have "direct access" to our students' attention. We have locks on residence halls and various security systems to monitor (to the best of our ability) who has access to our students; but we do not have such stringent systems in place for e-mail. How should we advise students who complain about SPAM? We say in our office that "the delete key can be your best friend" when it comes to SPAM. Beyond deleting unwanted messages, one may choose to complain to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) through which the SPAM was relayed. (For more information about dealing with SPAM, see "Junk E-Mail Hits University" Outlook, 1998). Some other examples of "old fears, new forms:"  old fears  new forms breaking & entering into a residence hall room "hacking," "cracking," and "sniffing" - accessing someone's computer or account without permission - may be harmless, but is often done with the intent to damage or steal property hate speech   content of speech is the same, but delivery is faster and more widespread as well as more "efficient" and less expensive allowing for even greater distribution harassment Intimidation or annoying behavior is "enhanced" by technology - through participating in a networked environment, individuals may be targeted directly and the perception is that the perpetrator has access to the victim in an immediate and intimate way (see Petersen, Rodney, "Harassment Over the Internet," Synthesis: Law and Policy in Higher Education, Vol. 5, No. 4, Winter/Spring 1994, p. 402.) Anonymous threats/vandalism   these attacks may feel more personal when one's computer is attacked anonymously the attacker is "right there" with the victim and while anonymous speech may be protected by the First Amendment, threats to a person or destruction of property is not Physical/psychological assault denial of service attacks and the placement of "Trojan programs" on another's computer are examples of ways technology may be used to "assault" - with both physical and psychological affects incivility in face-to-face communication chatrooms and other on-line communication methods allows for a feeling of distance which may enhance the user's feeling of impunity regarding civil behavior.   The purpose of article is not to dissect each new form and develop a response to it (editor's note: many of these topics are addressed elsewhere in this e-zine, DWS). The goal is to challenge the idea that the increased use of and reliance on technology on college and university campuses is a paradigm shift. It is true that the issues we have dealt with in the past are occurring in new ways and reveal themselves in more and more complex manifestations. However, as student affairs professionals with knowledge and skills in human development, we must again be the translators. In order to be translators, we must know the basics of "techspeak" so we are able to communicate with the Information Technology people on our campuses with whom we may collaborate to support victims of these old fears that are enacted through new forms. (See Komives, S. R. & Petersen, R. J. (1997). "Values and principles guiding technology decision making for the future." From Engstrom, C. M. and Kruger, K. W., Using Technology to Promote Student Learning: Opportunities for Today and Tomorrow, New Directions for Student Services Number 78, Summer. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. What is critical for us to remember as student affairs professionals is the behavior-means balance in dealing with these old fears, new forms issues. The behavior is the human element about which we have extensive data to support our interventions. The means, however, is where technology comes into play. By collaborating with the information technology staff to understand the means, we may be better able to support the victims against the actual behavior. What this suggests is that we must always do what we have done well: provide support to the victim. Supporting the victim may include a discussion of the "means" so the mystique that surrounds the "new forms" may be somewhat dispelled and minimized. Minimizing the mystique offers the victim a sense of empowerment, thereby assisting in dealing with the "old fear" for which the victim was a target. The sense of powerlessness that accompanies being a victim of these various "old fears" behaviors may be heightened when technology is used as a powerful "new form." Student affairs professionals must be versed in the basics of technology to be able to translate these "new form" manifestations according to our experience with the "old fear" behaviors that we have been dealing with for a long time. It is our knowledge and skill with human development and behavior that will allow us to support the victims of "old fears" regardless of the "new forms."   Printer Friendly Version