Challenges to Opt-Out Privacy Policies at Colleges?

jmaxlow asks: "It's that time of year again when my university sends out mailers informing students that their personal information will be compiled and released in a student directory unless students register objections in writing by the deadline. This info includes name, address, date of birth, and email address, among other items, and there is nothing to prevent them from selling the information to third parties without vested interests. The Buckley Amendment allows them to do this, so of course it isn't illegal. But my question is: has anyone ever petitioned their university to change to an opt-in policy? I'd like to know what responses schools have given, if any, when challenged, before I bring it up with my own registrar."

Comments

Don't get it.

[Captain_Stupendous]

Opt in? You mean, "Please, PLEASE sell my personal information to the highest bidder! Please make a profit at my expense, without any possible benefit to me!"

Generally, "Opt-in" services are where you pay someone to provide you a service. "Opt-out" is where you bitch at them to stop charging you, or raping and pillaging you, or whatever. I can't see any possible benefit to an "Opt-in" service of this type, unless you are a masochist.

Re:Problem

[Monkelectric]

Never have I heard someone talk out of their ass so badly.

Universities of all types are money grubbing bastards. Even when I opted out of the student directory, my name was sold to a slew of companies, I got special student credit card offers, and all sorts of adds for graduation stuff, rings, invitations etc...

And as a former university employee, let me tell you WHY they do this. Government money is regulated, it can only legally be spent on what it is earmarked for. Once in my employment, we had 250k for equiptment but our other accounts were nearly depleted, we could hardly pay our employees and bills and we couldn't cheat. I ordered 100k worth of sun servers (which we also needed badly), but when we got them we couldn't afford the 900$ to have the power receptacles installed (3 prong 210V dealies), because that money had to come from out general fund not our equiptment fund.

So here's why universities are money grubbing bastards (atleast in the US). Money they get from ripping off students is *FREE MONEY*. They can put it in "discretionary funds" and do whatever the fuck they want with it. At my university "the money runs uphill and the shit runs downhill" (to quote the Sopranos). The chancelor stole money from wherever he could to the tune of like 2 mill a year in his discretionary fund. With a student body of about 15,000 you can see thats about 134$/year in fees per student, easily accomplished.