The A.S. Council asked the administration to stop the program that allows student identification card photos to be viewed by faculty and staff on StudentLink.
The Jan. 23 resolution, titled “”Resolution Stating the Concerns and Stating Recommendations Regarding Studentlink Photos,”” was submitted by Senate Chair Nick Lieberknecht.
The resolution comes after discussions between A.S. President Jeff Dodge and Vice Chancellor Joseph Watson.
According to Lieberknecht, it was Watson who wanted the official position of the students. He said this is the message with which Dodge returned from the meetings.
“”I feel like we’ve begun discussions on creatively finding solutions to address as concerns,”” Dodge said.
The Senate — the 20 voting members of the A.S. Council — went out to constituents to gauge the position of the students.
“”It was brought up to college councils and it was brought up to constituents,”” Lieberknecht said.
Lieberknecht said that when he personally went to students with the question, he received mixed responses.
“”Some students were fine with having their photos available,”” he said. “”But there were enough of my constituents that said, ‘Hey Nick, I don’t like this,’ that we wanted to do something about it to protect those people.””
The resolution states the reasons for the recommended removal of the photos, which are available to staff and faculty for the first time this year.
Lieberknecht expressed that students are concerned that the practice could open the door to stereotyping or profiling.
The resolution also cites the lack of information available to students about the use of their photos, the absence of a limit on which members of the faculty and staff can access the photos and a risk of personal safety as reasons against the practice.
Earlier recommendations by the A.S. Council were to provide a way for students to opt out of allowing their picture to be put up, and to have students sign a waiver when they take their ID card photos.
The new resolution asks for the program to be discontinued entirely and for an opt-out to be available until then. Through the resolution, the A.S. Council calls on the administration to send out a letter informing students that their ID card photos are available for this program.
Lieberknecht is optimistic about the administration’s reaction to the resolution.
“”I think some of the points we made will be hard to ignore,”” he said. “”I think we might be able to get them to take a second look.””
