In this March 2024 file photo, members of the Berkeley school community packed a BUSD board meeting in support of ethnic studies programs focusing on Palestinian history. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside/CatchLight
Multiple members of the football team participated in a brief, approximately 90-second prank against a freshman student, While the freshman was using a urinal in a communal bathroom, with his back to the door, students closed the door, moved a bench in front of it, threw ice into the bathroom, and sprayed a few bursts of disinfectant into the open area above the door.
The audit determined that District officials did not ensure network user accounts were adequately managed. It also determined there were sensitive information technology (IT) control weaknesses, which we communicated confidentially to officials. As a result, compromised accounts may not be detected and increased opportunities for users to make unauthorized or improper changes, improperly access students' private and personal information and/or modify accounting records to conceal malicious transactions exist. The audit included three recommendations to help District officials adequately secure access to the network and properly manage user permissions.
Under the Department of Education's proposed Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement, institutions would have to submit applied, admitted and enrolled student data broken down by test score quintiles, grade point average quintiles, income ranges, Pell Grant eligibility and parental education levels, as well as data regarding aid and student outcomes. Institutions would also be required to send historical data going back to 2020.
During the COVID pandemic, schools around the world rapidly switched to cloud services. Microsoft immediately offered "educational" products. At the same time, responsibility for privacy compliance was shifted to schools and national authorities. The fundamental tension came to light when a student requested access to his personal data. Microsoft simply referred him to the local educational institution, which in turn could only provide minimal information because it does not have access to data held by Microsoft. The result: no one could guarantee GDPR rights.
As the UC system asks its supporters to stand up against the federal government's demand for $1 billion from UCLA, it throws 160 of its own under the bus. In a cynical act of self-service, UC's leadership has given the names of those who practiced free speech, endangering their lives and livelihoods. As a Berkeley alum, I am appalled by this decision.
