"Is Privacy Dead?"

PAS events tackle leaks, Facebook, ID theft

February 5, 2008

Valerie Plame Wilson, the former CIA agent who was outed by leaks in her own government, will visit Dickinson College to discuss her ordeal and sign copies of her book, Fair Game.

Wilson's appearance, scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. at the Anita Tuvin Schlechter (ATS) auditorium, is part of the 45th Public Affairs Symposium (PAS). Wilson will give the Poitras-Gleim lecture, the keynote event of PAS.

Advance tickets are required for Wilson's lecture and are available for free 11 a.m.-1 p.m. weekdays at the MOB ticket window in the lower level of the HUB.

One of the symposium organizers, Lee Tankle '10, said he and his fellow PAS committee members—Mindy Chambers '08, Eli Brill '10, Samantha Krupnick '09, Lisa Estrella '09 and Anita Ramanathan '08—selected this year's theme after discussing the many ways people are losing control of their privacy, sometimes voluntarily.

"It is hard to find a student who doesn't have a Facebook profile," Tankle said. "Students put up loads of personal information about themselves including age, relationship status, favorite movies, books and class schedule. Many students, not just at Dickinson, put up sexually revealing photos and pictures of themselves drinking underage and using illegal drugs. They don't realize how easy it is for potential sexual predators to see these things and how many people lose jobs or aren't hired because of their Facebook profiles."

Such attitudes, coupled with involuntary loss of privacy—through identity theft and examples of domestic spying allowed under the Patriot Act—made this year's topic timely and relevant.

"People face violations of privacy every single day, whether it be from things posted by themselves on a Web site, their image on a closed-circuit television, or even in rarer circumstances, some people might find themselves the victim of government wiretapping," Tankle said.

Gretchen Symons, director of student activities, said this year's subject matter is increasingly relevant in a society featuring myriad multimedia outlets.

When thinking of ideas, Symons said, the organizers asked, "Is this something the campus is interested in and that people can talk about?" With "Is Privacy Dead?" as this year's theme, organizers say it's a safe bet that the answer to both questions is yes.

The Poitras-Gleim lecture is endowed by Ted and Kay Gleim Poitras.

Other scheduled participants in the annual PAS series are:

• Jeffrey Rosen, a George Washington University law professor and a leading privacy expert, will speak in Rubendall Recital Hall on Monday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
• Frederick Lane, an expert in emerging technology and its implication on law and the legal profession, will present Lost In MySpace: Trends in Student Technology and Privacy, at ATS on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. After his presentation he will moderate a 20-minute debate among four members of Union Philosophical Society about Facebook and privacy.
• Saltsburg, Pa., Police Chief Robert Doperak, an identify-theft expert, will speak at Rubendall Recital Hall on Thursday, Feb. 21, at noon.