Daniel de Vise reports: One November day in 2007, an e-mail arrived at the Virginia Tech health center warning that a 21-year-old senior named Daniel Kim might be suicidal. Within weeks, Kim was dead. And only then did his parents learn of the e-mail. Four years later, the university has reached a legal settlement with…
Category: Youth & Schools
Webkinz children’s site is subject of complaint to FTC
Dawn C. Chmielewski reports: The children’s online site Webkinz is the focus of a complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission by a child advocacy group, which is urging the agency to investigate corporate parent Ganz for alleged deceptive and unfair trade practices. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood on Tuesday accused the Canadian owner…
Idaho: Cars Can Be Searched at School Without Suspicion of Crime
I had tweeted about this decision last week, but I seem to have forgotten to post it on the blog as well (hey, I’m old, I forget…). Thanks to a reader who sent this in with a subject line, “i figured this would piss you and your readers off as much as it does me..” He’s…
COLUMN: Students’ private information available for anyone to see
A senior at University of Kentucky has a column about the online student directory, privacy, and safety. Her commentary is a useful reminder that an exemption in the federal law that protects the privacy of students’ education records (FERPA) may pose a risk to student safety and that just because universities can reveal information does not…