LSU should stop printing a directory
I am glad to see the LSU administration took the first step in protecting privacy rights of students. The decision to remove all personally identifiable information about students from the www.lsu.edu Web site is a good one I hope can be continued with the next logical step.
Every year, LSU Public Relations publishes a directory known as the LSU Directory, which lists every student’s name, address, phone number, e-mail address and classification. This directory is given out across campus and can be purchased by anyone for a small price at the LSU Bookstore. So while protecting students’ privacy on the Web site is a good idea, the next logical step is to stop the publishing of personally identifiable information about all students in the LSU directory.
If the administration truly is concerned about the privacy rights of students, I would urge them to stop the publication of the LSU directory in the future. I further would urge them to revise Policy Statement 30, which states that “Directory information is available to the public … which is defined as student’s name, local address and telephone number, student’s home address, student’s e-mail address, date and place of birth and student’s major field of study/classification.”
That’s right, if I wanted to right now, I could make a public records request to receive any of the information I just listed about any student on this campus, and according to PS-30, it would have to be handed over to me.
If you have a problem with this, as I do, I would urge you to contact Registrar Robert Doolos at 578-2070 to tell him to stop this practice.
Donald Hodge
Law Student
Controversy marred BSU election
BSU elections were held on April 9. Every year, these elections are held on the same day as SG elections, but due to a request made by one of the candidates arguing he had an insufficient amount of time to campaign, they were pushed back one week.
After the election results were in, that same candidate filed an appeal contesting the results. He was beaten by a margin great enough to meet SG regulations, but he contested the results, stating the election was not in accordance with SG regulations. The fact he keeps postponing the inevitable is very sad.
The re-election is scheduled for April 24 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. To clear up confusion, the BSU is using its own election code. After all the postponing, it leads me to believe it is obviously not meant for him to win, but this will be certain at the end of the day.
Shayla M. Ferguson
Junior — Sociology
Apartments cannot guarantee safety
In the words of a colleague, you cannot possibly guarantee the safety of anyone unless you can predict the future. To guarantee another person’s safety other than your own is like saying you guarantee this hurricane season not one hurricane will hit the coast of Florida.
It is up to individuals to do things for themselves to increase personal safety. You yourself need to be more aware of your surroundings: always have your keys ready, bring a buddy when you have to run errands at night, lock your doors and windows, learn some self-defense moves, let people know where you are and when you’ll be back.
No apartment complex, or anyone for that matter, can guarantee you will do these things for yourself. You can have the electronic gates, which are a joke to begin with, or the courtesy managers patrolling the property or the alarm systems, but why not take some steps to secure yourself?
Sherri Montz
Senior — Graphic Design
Complexes should prioritize safety
The apartment complexes highlighted in “Safe Haven?” seem to have made a few mistakes in projecting their image. Obviously, they were making “no bones” about how they provide safety to residents, but they may be creating even less reassurance.
When I looked for an apartment, I was less concerned with gated communities than the lighting and number of locks on the doors. I understand some facilities just do not have the money to adjust to higher levels of safety, but small changes are definitely necessary.
Who wants to live where they are a “sitting duck?” Any security measures are better than none. Also, I agree with Amy Wong that security guards, for whatever reason, do make residents feel safer.
With rising awareness of safety, apartment complexes should be the first places on guard and taking precautions.
Julia D’Antonio
Freshman — Mass Communication
The Legacy is a pointless magazine
What’s up with the Legacy magazine? What purpose does it serve? It looks like something put out by a bunch of students with NOTHING better to do. Every time it comes out (and who can guess when that will be) I pick one up and begin reading it, thinking maybe, just maybe, this time it will be entertaining. Every time, I’m disappointed.
A small fraction of my life is taken away from me every time I give the magazine a chance, and with the recent issue, I still don’t feel I’ve spent the time wisely.
Erin McWilliams
Junior — Mass Communication