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SUNY Oswego Inappropriately Cites FERPA in Refusing to Disclose Discipline Information

The Student Press Law Center (SPLC)  last Wednesday that the State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego) is denying requests from student newspaper The Oswegonian for information about conduct violations by Greek organizations, citing the  (FERPA). FERPA is meant to ensure the privacy of students鈥 educational records, but colleges and universities often try to use the federal law to keep records hidden when those records contain potentially embarrassing information鈥攅ven if releasing them poses no risk to students鈥 privacy. Oswegonian news editor Seamus Lyman claims that鈥檚 just what is happening at SUNY Oswego.

An  published in The Oswegonian earlier this month called for more transparency in Greek life on campus, arguing that the lack of information about the Greek system clashes with the school鈥檚 鈥渟emesterly anti-hazing emails鈥 and other efforts to better the system. FIREconsidering joining Greek life won鈥檛 know what they鈥檙e getting into without aggregated information about violations by Greek groups, the editorial argues, and students not involved in Greek life will remain unaware of the extent of problems in the Greek community.

In asking the school for its records, Lyman  how SUNY Plattsburgh and other schools collect and share information about discipline against Greek groups in a way that maintains individual students鈥 privacy while still allowing students and student media access to important information. SUNY Oswego鈥檚 records access officer, Julie Blissert, said that the school did not have its records in a form that could be lawfully released.

But SPLC attorney Adam Goldstein said that 鈥淸t]here must be some form of the records, albeit redacted, that can be disclosed鈥 consistent with FERPA. In speaking with 果冻传媒app官方, Goldstein explained that although the school might have to redact more than just names in order to maintain students鈥 anonymity, 鈥渋t is impossible for [the documents] not to be redactable.鈥

It might be about time for SUNY Oswego to get in touch with Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who generally offered last September to assist schools that were struggling to maintain the balance between privacy and 鈥渟haring simple information.鈥 Until then, SUNY Oswego could check out SPLC鈥檚  blog for some guidance.

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