Issue date: 9/29/04 Section: News

Media Credit: Tina Larkin Scantron forms containing student social security numbers lie in recycling bins in the basement of Logan Hall on Monday.

Student social security numbers are supposed to be confidential, but thousands of them were lying in a recycling bin in the Logan Hall basement for days.

"My guess is that it was stuck in some office, and someone threw it away without thinking," said Ronald Yeo, Department of Psychology chairman.

The Scantron forms, extra credit assignments and exams from the Department of Psychology went under lock and key Tuesday at noon, Yeo said.

The traffic flow through the basement is very light, he said, adding faculty members, graduate students and custodians are usually the only ones down there.

Students are required to disclose their social security number to the University. The Board of Regents authorized the use of the numbers for identification purposes in 1967.

The papers in the bin were dated four to seven years back and included the names and social security numbers of students, many of whom are still at the University.

"For my numbers to be in some random recycling bin really pisses me off," said Heike Wright in an e-mail.

Wright said it will make him more cautious of future exams or assignments where the numbers are required.

"I know the University has all sorts of policy on privacy and other stuff," he said, "Why not old papers with social security numbers?"

Yeo said student exams are usually kept for three years. It was the right time, but not the right way to dispose of them, he said.

Department policy is to shred documents before they are thrown away, he said, adding disposal clearly needs to be monitored.

Lea, a representative from the Social Security Administration's local office, said anything could be done with another person's social security number, including identity theft. She could not disclose her last name for security reasons.

"We all fear the day our social security numbers, passports, drivers licenses - a collection of those kind of things - would fall into someone else's hands," said Elizabeth Barton, associate registrar.

Continued...

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