This is an alternative draft copy provided for the purpose of obtaining input. Please direct comments to Professors Timothy B. Lewis and Jeffrey N. Barnes (Professors) and the Computer Policy Subcommittee of the Academic Computing Users Committee (ACUC). Ideas sent to one member will be shared with all.

Professor Timothy B. Lewis

BU 327, Dixie Leavitt Business Building

Lewis_T@suu.edu

(435) 586-5443

Professor Jeffrey N. Barnes

BU 323, Dixie Leavitt Business Building

Barnes@suu.edu

(435) 586-5406

ACUC Randy Christensen

Christensen@suu.edu

(435) 586-7946
 
 

Preamble:

The Need for Balancing

No individual right or liberty has ever been deemed to be absolute, for if individual rights were deemed to be absolutes, there could be no such thing as civil society—instead, anarchy and violence would ultimately reign. Of necessity, there must be a balancing of individual rights and responsibilities among the members of any given society in order to preserve that society and ultimately, liberty itself.

Legitimate Boundaries

On a university campus, freedom of inquiry or, academic freedom, is necessary as a generalized right. But it is not an absolute right—there are legitimate boundaries imposed by the greater community that we serve and whose financial support is necessary to the accomplishment of our academic mission. Consequent to this necessary balancing of interests, academic freedom must end where moral impropriety begins. In these regards, the moral boundaries imposed upon us are determined by our surrounding community.
 
 
 
 

Community Interests

The community seeks to protect its moral values, protect its children from harmful material, exclude material threatening the public safety of women and children, and prohibit access to material otherwise deemed to be illegal under state or federal law.

Legitimate Expectations of Privacy

Of particular concern, are those activities which occur in our public facilities. The more public one’s activities become, the less legitimate one’s claims to privacy and privilege become. And as a corollary, the more public the conduct, the greater becomes the public’s right to regulate that conduct for the sake of protecting societal interests.

Appropriate Academic Sponsorship

Although one is free to think and believe as one pleases as a matter of private conscience, the university is free to discriminate regarding what information and ideas it will institutionally sponsor and promote through its public facilities. Such decisions are a matter of sponsorship rather than censorship and are guided by several sometimes contradictory and competing considerations and constraints including but not limited to, public order and safety, public morality and decency, economic constraints, intellectual inquiry and progress, etc.

Consonate with the spirit of foregoing principles, the respective competing interests are balanced as follows:

Computer Users’ Rights:

Within the constraints and limits imposed by the following section regarding Computer Users’ Responsibilities, the university will provide an environment in which there is:

1. Freedom of inquiry.
2. Freedom of expression.
3. Freedom from censorship.
4. Protection of intellectual property rights.
5. Protection of public morality and decency.
6. Presumption of innocence.
7. Due process in the resolution of controversies and disputes.

Each individual will act in such a way as to promote, rather than detract from, the moral and intellectual environment sought to be achieved by the university, recognizing the fact that individual rights and responsibilities must be balanced in order for the academic mission of the university to be achieved. Therefor, each student and employee of the university assumes the following responsibilities and duties:

1. Obedience to the laws of the land.
2. Obedience to the rules and policies of the university.
3. Respect for the moral and intellectual beliefs of others.
4. Avoidance of willful access to sexually explicit materials more particularly defined below.
5. Civility.
6. Respect for the intellectual property rights of others. This would include, among other things, the avoidance of plagiarism and violation of any copyright laws or licensing agreements.
7. Respect for the integrity of campus computer systems. This would include, among other things, the avoidance of any sort of system modification without prior authorization of the ACUC, unauthorized access to accounts, "hacking," etc.

Except to the extent required in conjunction with a bona fide, university-approved research or other university-approved undertaking, no university employee, student, or guest shall utilize university-owned or university-leased information infrastructure (as defined below) to access, download, print, or store any information infrastructure files or services having sexually explicit content.

Approval for Accessing Sexually Explicit Material

Should any party seek access to sexually explicit materials for bona fide university research or other acceptable purposes, said party shall apply to his/her department chair, college dean, and university provost for a specific waiver from this policy. This application shall specifically set forth the reasons and justifications for waiver. Such waiver shall not be effective unless and until all three of the foregoing university officers have approved.

Definitions

Information Infrastructure

A lab assistant or anybody else who observes an alleged violation of this policy shall file a signed, written statement regarding that observation including details which are relevant to the issue of whether or not a willful violation of this policy has occurred. A copy of such statement shall be forwarded to both the Provost and Section Chief Attorney General for the University to determine if any University rules or policies or any applicable criminal laws have been violated.

For purposes of determining whether or not any university rules or policies have been violated, the accused shall be presumed innocent and the burden of proving otherwise shall rest upon the university by preponderance of the evidence.

Upon determination of guilt for a first offense under the foregoing standard, a person’s computer privileges shall be revoked for a period of one year from the point of the determination of guilt. Upon a second infraction or the use of the university computing facilities during the period of suspension through the use of anybody else’s access codes or privileges, said student shall be expelled or said employee terminated from employment.

Except for the changes made above, all pre-established university due process procedures apply.
 
 

Use of Filtering Software

In order to lessen potential problems with displays or exhibitions of sexually explicit materials in a public place and protect computer users from unwarranted prosecution for violation of these policies, the university shall install filtering software designed to screen out sexually explicit materials, more particularly defined above.

Should a bona fide research waiver be given, the university shall provide unfiltered private access away from the public areas of the university, for the purpose of pursuing such research.
 
 

University to Inform Employers, Students, and Guests

Upon approval of this policy, the University shall immediately furnish current employees, students, and publicly post for guests, a copy of this academic computer use policy.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Review and Implementation

The Academic Computer Users Committee, under the direction of the Dean’s Council, will be responsible for translating the Computer Policy into student lab manuals and clarifying questions.

For Comment Date

Timothy B. Lewis and Jeffrey N. Barnes

Administrative Computer Users Committee

Student Senate

Faculty Senate

For Approval Date

Academic Computer Users Committee

Attorney General

Dean’s Council

President’s Council

Board of Trustees
 
 

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