Police Records Can Be Hard to Get at OCCC
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OKLAHOMA CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE INSIDE PIONEER ONLINE To comment on stories, or to access the latest news, features, multimedia, IONEER online exclusives and PAPRIL 13, 2012 WWW.OCCC.EDU/PIONEER COVERING OCCC SINCE 1978 updates, visit occc.edu/pioneer. Walk for life Student award ceremony set EDITORIAL PASSWORDS for April 20 DON’T BELONG TO EMPLOYERS MARY MCATEE Staff Writer Reporter Joey [email protected] Stipek says your social networking passwords should he 36th annual Student Awards not be in the hands TCeremony will take place at 6 p.m. of employers. Read Friday, April 20, at in the General Dining more inside. Area of OCCC, said Student Life Assistant OPINION, p. 2 Marcy Roll. Roll said several students and teachers would be honored at the ceremony for lead- CAMPUS LIFE ership, academic excellence, and civics. KNOW Student Life Director Erin Logan said YOUR OPEN about 120 students will be honored. Chris James/Pioneer “The awards are plaques, medals, certifi- RECORDS Trish Stutson, political science and pre-law major, takes a stroll around the walking cates, and graduation cords, depending on OCCC is bound trail around the OCCC pond April 4. Wednesday marked National Walking Day during by Oklahoma law which students and faculty took to the sidewalks to fight heart disease. the award,” Logan said. to release certain Faculty, staff, students, and their families records to the public. are all invited to attend the ceremony, Roll Find out which said. She said different faculty and staff will records the public present the awards. can get and how to obtain them. Police records can be OCCC hosts the awards ceremony for students “to recognize student achieve- NEWS, p. 6 ments,” Roll said. She said the ceremony will last about an hour, followed by a SPORTS hard to get at OCCC reception. BASKETBALL (Editor’s Note: In In part one of a two-part series, which police records Logan said she looks forward to the part one of a two-part must be made available ceremony. “We’re excited to be part of a LEAGUE IN series, Senior Staff the Pioneer investigates OCCC’s SESSION for public inspection. wonderful event that highlights the diver- Writer Sarah Hussain, compliance with the Open sity, creativity, and excellence of OCCC’s OCCC’s men’s Special Projects Re- It reads, in part, “Law basketball league porter Joey Stipek, and Records Act enforcement agencies student population.” plays at 7 p.m. Online Reporter Mike shall make available every Thursday Wormley investigate records that should be avail- for public inspection, if on campus. The whether OCCC is in compliance with able according to the state’s kept, the following records: league is open to the the state’s Open Records Act when ‘Absolute 2012’ community. For more it comes to what records are being Open Records Act, Title 51 A chronological list of inci- details, see inside. released by campus police.) of Oklahoma statutes. dents, including … a brief The law ensures citizens summary of what occurred.” to be unveiled SPORTS, p. 8 access to their government or The law also requires that SARAH HUSSAIN EMILY MAYES its institutions. The Open Re- if a person is arrested, the Senior Writer News Writing Student CAMPUS LIFE cords Act states its purpose person’s name, date of birth, JOEY STIPEK is “to ensure and facilitate address, race, sex, physical DEADLY Special Projects Writer reception to celebrate the newest the public’s right of access description, and occupation TEXTING MIKE WORMLEY edition of the college’s literary and to and review of govern- be provided. A AND DRIVING Online Reporter artistic journal, “Absolute 2012,” will be at ment records so they may In an incident on campus OCCC hosted a 12:30 on Thursday, April 26, in CU1 and efficiently and intelligently Feb. 23, a student reportedly seminar about the itizens seeking police 2. The journal includes works of short fic- exercise their inherent politi- was sharpening his knife in dangers of texting Crecords on campus tion and non-fiction, poetry, photography, and driving. Turn cal power.” class and threatened his may find barriers to that ac- and art. inside to read one In Section 24A.8. Law classmates and the profes- cess, Pioneer reporters have The reception will feature readings from family’s story. Enforcement Records—Dis- sor when they questioned found. the journal, said English Professor Mary- COMMUNITY, p. 10 National experts say closure, the Oklahoma Open OCCC seems to withhold Records specifically states See RECORDS page 12 See ABSOLUTE page 9 2 • APRIL 13, 2012 PIONEER | OCCC.EDU/PIONEER OPINION BALLIARD BILL EDITORIAL | No one has the right to ask for personal passwords Facebook content is like U.S. Mail U.S Citizen Kimberly Hester is currently learning right thing to do,” the consequences of exercising her First Amendment In reaction, Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), right to free speech after she apparently agrees and proposed an amendment to posted a picture on her personal H.R. 3309, the Federal Communications Commis- Facebook page of a co-worker’s sion Process Reform Act of 2012. pants around her ankles in April The amendment, “Mind Your Own Business on of last year. Passwords,” would have prohibited employers, pro- The teacher’s aide at Frank spective and otherwise, from demanding employees’ Squires Elementary School social networking usernames and passwords — and located in Cassopolis, Mich., would have allowed the FCC to step in and put a stop JEREMY CLOUD maintains the picture isn’t of to any employers asking for this type of information treated the same way as your mail is handled by the pornographic nature and said for privacy reasons. U.S. Postal Service. she didn’t upload the picture to Unfortunately, the amendment was voted down in You wouldn’t let Congressman James Lankford JOEY Facebook while at work. the U.S. House of Representatives last week, 236 to 184. open up your letter from a loved one, would you? STIPEK Still, a parent who was friends This is yet another example of people elected in The American Civil Liberties Union even agreed with Hester on Facebook and Washington who don’t even know how to say “Face- with this common sense approach. could see Hester’s posts, notified the school district’s book” correctly, making decisions that compromise The ACLU issued a press release expressing a real administration about the photos in question. a person’s right to privacy. concern that an employer with a password “essentially Hester’s boss then made repeated requests to ac- Since it’s impossible for those elected to Congress can act as imposters and assume the identity of an cess her Facebook account. Hester refused on every to understand this issue, I will write it out for them employee and continually access, monitor and even occasion. at a high-school reading level. manipulate an employee’s personal social activities The school district, assuming the worst possible No single person using social media websites should and opinion.” scenario, placed Hester on paid administrative leave have to turn over their passwords to their potential Cases like Hester’s rarely are treated as a free speech before eventually suspending her without pay. or current employers. issue. They are usually “these are the consequences of Facebook has stepped forward, saying the popular Citizens have the First Amendment right to practice your freedom to speak” issues. Unfortunately, Hester social networking site isn’t happy about the possibility free speech and religious freedoms even on websites is learning there are sometimes consequences to the of employers prying into their employee’s profiles. such as Twitter and Facebook. content a person posts onto social media accounts. Facebook released a statement regarding situations One’s social media personality is an extension of —Joey Stipek such as Hester’s which read, “we don’t think it’s the one’s overall individual identity. It deserves to be Special Assignments Reporter LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Clothing questioned, said to be embarrassing Writer says student’s T-shirt has no place at college To the editor: learning environment. I don’t care if classmate would feel sitting next to him. on what is decreed appropriate dress. Although I have always respected your T-shirts make political or reli- No one should have to feel that way Thank you very much for your time. OCCC’s dress code and the freedom it gious statements, or even sport the because of someone’s poor clothing —Blake Williams allows, a fellow student’s wardrobe of occasional “f-bomb” or marijuana leaf choices and a college’s too-loose policy EMS Major choice has left me reconsidering. here and there. This week, I noticed a young man But to wear such a blatant, sexist strolling around campus in a T-shirt obscenity is unacceptable and makes that read “Yes, I am staring at your tit- the college look downright trashy. Do you have news you’d like to share? ties” in big, bold print. I cannot imagine the embarrassment To say I was appalled was an under- a female professor would have felt in- If so, contact Pioneer Editor Jeremy statement. structing a young man wearing such a That has absolutely no place in a shirt in class, or how degraded a female Cloud at [email protected]. OKLAHOMA CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE PIONEER Vol. 40 No. 29 Jeremy Cloud................................Editor Whitney Knight...................Online Editor The PIONEER is a publication of Oklahoma City name if the request is made in writing. Sarah Hussain....................Senior Writer Mike Wormley.....................Online Writer Community College through the Division of Arts The PIONEER has the right to edit all letters Emily Schorr..........................Staff Writer Nadia Enchassi..................Online Writer and Humanities.