By Dexter Gauntlett
Daily Bruin Contributor
A bill in the state legislature that would make it more
difficult to release student information is being discussed at the
bi-annual UC-wide registrar’s conference in Berkeley.
Under the proposed bill, SB-43, students would have to be
notified by mail, then provide the university with written consent
to release “public information as opposed to the current
procedure where discretion is held by the registrar.”
“SB-43 is to protect college students’ directory
information and keep it out of the hands of marketers and
predators,” said the bill’s author, Assemblyman Kevin
Murray, D-Los Angeles.
But the University of California, as well as the California
State University, oppose the bill, saying that thousands of dollars
would be spent to further secure student privacy that the
universities already consider to be safe.
Public information includes name, mailing address/telephone,
permanent address/telephone, e-mail address, major, dates of
attendance, units enrolled and degrees and awards received.
This information is currently subject to appear in the UCLA
Community Directory, the Campus Electronic Directory and
commencement publications.
In April a man pled guilty to making more than 100 obscene phone
calls to female UCLA students and was sentenced to a year in county
jail, and the bill’s supporters say giving students more
privacy can avoid such incidents.
The university, however, feels that the bill is too specific in
its intentions and student privacy is already maintained.
“I feel the existing federal law and university policy are
sufficient and we do feel we administer them in the best interest
of student privacy,” said Associate Registrar Anita
Cotter.
As an example of the negative aspect of the bill’s drawn
out process, according to the UCLA Registrar’s Office, the
university would not be able to release graduate student
information to interested schools without written consent from the
student.
Also, the bill would require the university to get written
consent from a student to release their address even if a
scholarship was available.
Second-year music student Jessica Read said she is weary of
having her local information released, and only made public her
permanent address information.
“How do you verify it’s really even a scholarship
they’re interested in? It could just be a ploy to get student
information,” Read said.
“I have a friend who was harassed by some random guy
because their local address was released by the
university.”
Currently, the Registrar’s Office abides by university
procedures and federal law when asked to disclose student
information.
The Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 provides students the
option to not disclose “public information.” Currently,
written consent is not mandatory when requests for student
information that are not considered harmful or an invasion of
privacy arise during the year.
The option to not release this information can be found on URSA
online under “Privacy Options.”
The financial aspect of the bill also comes into play for the
university, according to the Registrar’s Office.
Thousands of dollars would have to be allocated for postage for
the mailing list ““ estimated at $1 per student ““ that
would have to be sent out if the bill is passed. Also the necessary
adjustments to URSA online, and the increase in work when new
requests come in through the year would contribute to the
unnecessary cost, according to the Registrar’s Office.
In addition to the “public information,”
students’ Social Security number, sex, marital status and the
name, address, and parents’ telephone number or next of kin
are made available to the UCLA University Relations Department for
use in alumni, development and public relations activities.
To restrict the release of this information, students must
complete a “Request for University Relations Information
Restriction” form at Murphy 1113 .
Ethnicity information is also available under “public
information” and students are eligible to receive
ethnicity-based mailings and phone calls.Â
The university said, “this information is generally used
for providing information about graduate school recruitment or
other opportunities.”
Students can also keep this information restricted through URSA
online.