CAMPUS NEWS
September 12,2007
2
Technological Treats
Student Privacy at Meredith
By: Chelsea McGlaughlin
Staff Writer
While Meredith stu
dents may recogruze
their school's traditions
of safety, honor and
privacy, some may not
be aware of the lengthy
procedures to which
Meredith goes to protect
its students' rights.
"Meredith takes seri
ously its role in preserv
ing students' right to pri
vacy—and does so in any
number of ways, ranging
from barring intrusion by
solicitors in the residence
halls to maintaining
confidentiality in health
records to following
FERPA guidelines in the
protection of academic
records," explains jean
Jackson, Vice President of
College Programs.
The Health Center
goes to great lengths to
protect students' records.
Sherri Henderson,
Health Center Director,
describes the procedures
her staff follows: ..
all information concern
ing exam, diagnosis,
treatment, education
pertaining to a specific
student, staff, or faculty
is completely confiden
tial. We cannot discuss
any health issues without
the written permission
of the patient." Records
are kept completely safe,
even during non-busi
ness hours. "All student,
staff, and faculty files are
By: Anna Britt
Staff Writer
It's a Friday afternoon,
and you've driven to the
Cate Center to grab some
cash out of die ATM before
your big night out. You're
inside the building for no
more than five minutes,
but when you walk out,
you have a ticket tucked
nicely imder your wiper
blades. Furious, you
want to SCTeam out to the
world, "DO THEY HAVE
locked when the clinic
is closed and always
monitored when the
clinic is open," adds Ms.
Henderson.
The Counseling
Center also follows strict
guidelines. In fact, infor
mation students share
with the counselors may
not leave the Center
without written consent.
Although a few extreme
cases (mcluding any that
seem to pose a threat to
the student or others)
may require a policy
violation, information
is kept strictly personal.
For more information
regarding the Covmseling
Center's confidentiality
policies, visit
http;//wv^rw.meredith.
edu/students/counsel/
confidentiality.htm.
While it may seem
that faculty and staff
members shoulder stu
dents' privacy, students
do have some control
over what academic
information is known.
Under the protection of
the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act
of 1974, also known as
FERPA, .. students
[have] the right to review
and inspect educational
records maintained by
Meredith. It also allows
them to seek amendment
to any portion of their
academic record, and the
right to have some con
trol over the disclosure
of information from their
record," says Meredith
Registrar Jody Hamilton-
Davis. Visit http://www.
ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/
fpco/ferpa/index.html for
more information regard
ing FERPA and its pro
tections.
Grades are also heav
ily protected but may be
released with students'
written consent. Grades
are, however, released
only to Meredith employ
ees "such as the student's
advisor, officials of other
schools in which the stu
dent has sought admis
sion, appropriate per
sons concerned with the
student's application for
financial aid and federal
or state officials," says
Dr. Jackson.
She adds, "Students
may sign a 'Release of
Educational- Records,'
available m the Office of
the Registrar, Academic
Advising or the Dean of
Students Office, to allow
access to her records by
anyone she names on the
form."
So, the next time you
hear of a privacy prob
lem, remember that,
as a Mereditix student,
you are fully protected.
Faculty and staff go to
great lengths every day
to ensure the safety and
privacy of the students at
Meredith College.
>June 29, 2007: a day
that will live in technol
ogy infamy. On that day,
thousands of customers
flocked to Apple retail
outlets across the nation
to purchase cutting-edge
technology: the Apple
iPhone. V^at makes the
iPhone distinctive? Web
browsing, Bluetooth,
video iPod, digital photo
viewer, that ultra-cool
two-finger zoom feature,
a sleek touch-screen
design and, oh yeah, it
can make phone calls
also. Choose portrait
or landscape orienta
tion with a simple turn,
flick through your entire
music collection with one
finger, watch Youtube
videos, check your email,
read today's newspaper,
find, make reservations,
get directions to local
restaurants and check
weather and traffic con-
ditior\s. Service is cur
rently available through
AT&T only. Add the
shocking pricetag to the
cheapest individual call
ing plan, $59.99/montii,
and iPhone customers
What Do They Do Ail Day?
NOTHING BETTER
TO DO THAN ISSUE
PARKING TICKETS???"
Honestly, I don't believe
the security folks do.
A good number of
Meredith College students
have experienced at least
one of these unjustifiable
tickets. Although the tick
ets are a good bit cheaper
than a state-issued park
ing ticket, which ranges
from $50 to $125, the $25
Meredith parking ticket
is not ordy a burden, but
also poorly regulated.
This complaint leads
inevitably to the parking
situations. With the num
ber of students on the rise,
campus security has had
to make a few changes to
the way the several park
ing lots around campus
are configured. This year's
on-campus students have
created such an overflow
that they now occupy all
the spots surroundmg
Heilman, Barefoot and
Poteat, excluding the visi
tor spots.
Such has not always
been the case. Covmtless
tickets were given away at
spots that had been senior
parking because the spac
es were close to the dorms
and were never used.
Then, just when you think
more parking spots are
being added for xmder-
classmen, a huge chunk
was taken out of the park
By: Chelsea
McGlaughlin
Staff Writer
are spending major cash
to keep up in this digital
world.
>The new iPhone has
had some problems in its
short life, including cus
tomers' complaints of fre
quent freeze-ups, iffy call
quality, short battery life,
limited ringtone choices
(custom ringtones com
ing soon, says Apple),
touchy keypads and a
batch of enraged custom
ers. Jordan Robertson
of the Associated Press
writes, "Apple, Inc. CEO
Steve Jobs apologized
and offered $100 credits
Thursday to customers
who shelled out $599
for the most advanced
model of the iPhone,
only to have the com
pany unexpectedly
slash the price $200 in
a push to boost holiday
saJes." For the complete
article, visit http://money.
aol.com/news/articles/
ar/_a/jobs-apologizes-
gives-lOO-iphone-cred-
it/20070905095809990001.
Visit http://www.apple.
com/iphone/ for all the
details on the iPhone.
Any ideas for the
technology col
umn? Send them to
herald@meredith.edu.
ing behind Stringfield. I
have yet to see any seniors
parking in these spots.
Commuter parking isn't
perfect either. There are
eighteen faculty parking
spots that are on the SMB
end of the paved com
muter parking lot. There
are never any cars parked
in these spots, so why
not make half of tiiem for
commuters? That's way
What cont. on pg. 3