
A “see something, say something” approach to reporting on-campus hazing, bullying, cheating, or suspicious behavior at Virginia colleges has some civil libertarians questioning a technology that higher-education officials insist is necessary to comply with a state law.
Twenty-five colleges throughout Virginia use a web-based incident reporting program made by a Nebraska-based company called Awareity, which markets its Threat Assessment, Incident Management, and Prevention Services (TIPS) system as a way for campus decision makers to prevent security compromises, sniff out plagiarism, and even discover broken streetlamps, among other uses.
Students who submit an Awareity report, however, don’t have to attach their names or contact information to the online submission form. Officials at schools that use the reporting system said it has not yet been used as a tool for a student with a personal vendetta against a classmate, but higher-education observers said the option for anonymity leaves open the possibility.…Read More