NYPD infiltration of colleges raises privacy fears

Students said they worried the surveillance on campus could follow them after graduation or extend to their families and workplaces.

With its whitewashed bell tower, groomed lawns and Georgian-style buildings, Brooklyn College looks like a slice of 18th Century America dropped into modern-day New York City. But for years New York police have feared this bucolic setting might hide a sinister secret: the beginnings of a Muslim terrorist cell.

Investigators have been infiltrating Muslim student groups at Brooklyn College and other schools in the city, monitoring their internet activity and placing undercover agents in their ranks, police documents obtained by the Associated Press show. Legal experts say the operation may have broken a 19-year-old pact with the colleges and violated U.S. privacy laws, jeopardizing millions of dollars in federal research money and student aid.

The infiltration was part of a secret NYPD intelligence-gathering effort that put entire Muslim communities under scrutiny. Police photographed restaurants and grocery stores that cater to Muslims and built databases showing where people shopped, got their hair cut and prayed. The AP reported on the secret campaign in a series of stories beginning in August.…Read More

College president: I used to pump gas on the NJ Turnpike

When I was asked to speak at your commencement, my first thought was WOW! What an honor! And I also realized, I get to visit Greece — a place that I have always wanted to see, said Richard V. Hurley, who will be inaugurated Sept. 30 as president of the University of Mary Washington, one of two public liberal arts schools in the Washington region (adapted from his commencement remarks at American Community Schools of Athens, Greece, earlier this year, by the Washington Post). Then . . . my more serious side took over and I wondered: How can I deliver a meaningful speech that will be memorable to each of you and leave you with some information and tools that will truly serve you in your journey through life? So, I decided first to share my life story with you…

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