E-mail violations plague system

Surfing the information superhighway is becoming dangerous. Electronic mail harassment and commercial violations at the University are growing in number, according to Security Officer for Data Administration David Millar. Harassment complaints have increased from four in the first two months of 1995 to 12 in the first two months of this year. And complaints of commercial violations have increased from three to 11 in the same time period. Millar explained that commercial violations include electronic chain letters requesting that the receiver send items of value to keep the chain going. He added that excerpts of copyrighted books have been sent over e-mail and students have taken copyrighted images and put them on their home pages. "Students should be aware that if it violates the print media laws, the case involving e-mail is no different," said Michelle Goldfarb, acting director of the Student Dispute Resolution Center. And Millar stressed that if any students are in doubt, it is best to be safe and find out who owns the copyright. "The fact that you don't see the copyright statement doesn't mean there isn't one," he added. Harassing e-mails can sometimes be forged under another individual's name. "People sometimes assume that this cannot be traced," Millar said. "But very often it can." Millar added that if students receive harassing e-mail, they should save the message and contact his office. "We want students to know they have recourse," said Goldfarb, explaining that guilty students will receive a punishment. Depending on the severity of the incident, the penalty can range from a reprimand to a suspension of e-mail privileges. He added that if students receive an e-mail that is uncharacteristic of the person who supposedly wrote it, they should contact that person. Goldfarb and Millar both emphasized that students should be aware of how easy it is for many people to access individual e-mail accounts. "Messages can be preserved and copied -- so be aware," Goldfarb said. "We're not interested in making people openly paranoid, but [e-mail] is like putting up a postcard." And Millar added that students should "consider the trail that they are leaving behind." "We don't want to send a message that this is anarchy and that students should stay away," Millar said. "We just want students to exercise caution and common sense." Many students have complained of receiving harassing e-mail, but have not reported them to the Judicial Inquiry Office. "I had no idea that we had an office which can prosecute such offenses," said a College freshman who received an e-mail for a get rich quick pyramid scheme in which he was asked to send money to a list of people. And a College junior, requesting anonymity, said she received e-mail from an man who wrote "sexually graphic messages." But she said she deleted the messages before she even thought to contact school officials.