Wednesday, October 22, 2008

UIS presents a look at "Campus Computing and the Law"

"Trouble Online: Campus Computing and the Law," a program aimed at giving college students insight into legal rights and responsibilities related to social networking sites, will be presented Wednesday, November 12, at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The event will be held twice, at noon and 5 p.m., in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. Both sessions are free and open to the public.

In a program hailed as "entertaining, even hilarious," attorney/advocate C. L. Lindsay III (at left) -- author of The College Student's Guide to the Law: Get a Grade Changed, Keep Your Stuff Private, Throw a Police-Free Party, and More! (Taylor Trade Publishing, 2005) -- will lead a discussion designed to teach students "everything they need to know about their online lives," including what their rights and potential liabilities are, as well as how the laws operate. Topics will include the various ways that information posted to a student's Facebook or MySpace page can open the door to problems such as repercussions for violating plagiarism and intellectual property laws, diminished job opportunities, and increased vulnerability to Internet predators.

A recognized expert in the field of student rights and educational law, Lindsay is the founder and executive director of the Coalition for Student & Academic Rights (CO-STAR), a national organization that provides free legal assistance to thousands of college students each year. Lindsay's weekly column, "Ask CO-STAR" is distributed nationwide on Knight Ridder/Tribune's College Wire Service.

Sponsored by the UIS Career Development Center, the event is co-sponsored by the UIS Office of Alumni Relations, Student Activities Council, and Student Government Association. It is also presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university's effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

For more information, contact Kristen Chenoweth in the Career Development Center at 206-6501. Individuals who would like to request disability-related accommodations should contact the Center at 206-6508 no later than October 31.

For information about ECCE events, contact series coordinator Kimberly Craig at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.