There have been several headlines of late that we thought merited some editorial context. We’d like to use this opportunity to give our assessment of some of the issues ‘ good and bad ‘ that Binghamton University students face.
Social Networking 101
A number of recent reports by publications ranging from Pipe Dream on up to The Wall Street Journal have provided insight into just how exposed we are when we use the social networking panopticon. If you’re at all concerned about your online identity (or how Facebook’s stupidity may affect you) here’s a couple things to keep in mind:
Obviously, your first step should be to check your privacy settings and adjust accordingly. The standard settings are as porous as Swiss cheese, and you’re the only person to blame if your privacy is violated because you never opted to check out the Account tab to fool around with your options.
Your next move is to stop playing Farmville and other games like it. One, you’re in college. Two, these ostensibly harmless time-wasters peddle your personal information to shadowy web-marketing agencies, abusing loopholes in Facebook’s user identification system to make millions in sales to advertisers hungry for more targeted ad campaigns. It’s creepy stuff.
And don’t keep pictures tagged that shouldn’t be. Come on guys, your future employer won’t be impressed by how you use the bong you bought in Israel last summer.
Also, it never hurts to change the name that shows up on your profile to something people couldn’t trace back to you.
Everyone on the party bus!
We love being able to report some good news about our favorite student-run bus company. Off Campus College Transport is doubling late night bus service on the weekend. It’s a commendable move and, according to OCCT Director Gio Torres, the expansion has been in the works since last year, around the time that the student activity fee was increased. (This has us wondering, however, whether the OCCT bankruptcy crisis used as rationale for the increase was in fact a ploy to generate support.)
New and increased regulation of local cabs passed by Broome County earlier this year has put a notable dent in the ability of area taxi fleets. Cabs have become less available on the weekend, so OCCT is adjusting, which unfortunately will hurt taxi companies even more.
But OCCT’s expansion is undoubtedly a good thing for students ‘ a free, safe ride to and fro on the weekend never hurts. Torres and his staff are making the Blue Buses more user-friendly for both on-campus and off-campus students living on Binghamton’s West Side.
SA help we shouldn’t have needed
The Student Association has announced that they are working toward legislation that would provide concrete academic protection for students dealing with the death of a loved one.
Dan Rabinowitz, SA vice president for academic affairs, cited examples of Binghamton University students who could not turn in assignments or take tests because of a death in the family, but who received no leniency from their professors.
Though the new rules should prove helpful, the fact that they are necessary is appalling. If professors at this University feel that their day-to-day assigned busywork outweighs personal tragedy, they probably need to get their heads examined.
Some professors may have legitimate concerns once students’ great aunts start dying for the third time, but if students can provide documented proof that their mourning is warranted (as the new policy may require), then we don’t see a problem.
We would hope that added protections for students in the wake of a family death would be redundant. Sadly for some teachers here, it will take SA intervention to compel them to act with basic human empathy.