Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Multiple universities witness increase in spamming
By David Cohen
Independent Florida Alligator (U. Florida)
02/27/2006

(U-WIRE) GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Public records laws may add to the University of Florida's spam woes, but the university's dilemma isn't unique.

State and federal laws require any public university in Florida to release its students' contact information — sometimes including e-mail addresses — if requested.

About 80 percent of e-mail received at UF is spam. That overwhelming majority is on par with other major universities.

At the University of Georgia, about 75 percent of e-mail received is seen as unwanted, which spam blockers try to delete.

UGA administrators agree that Georgia's open records law may contribute to the spam count.

UGA Open Records Manager Bob Taylor said the university gives out student and faculty information on a compact disc — purchasable by anyone for $100.

UF, on the other hand, tells anyone who wants a comprehensive list to go to its online directory.

Federal law says university students can make their "directory information" — including name, phone number, address and e-mail address — private.

Taylor said he sometimes disagrees with the accessibility of student information.

"Is it allowed under the law? Yes," Taylor said of the CD. "Is it an abuse of the law? Yes. For me, [the purpose of] an open records law is for accountability and not for helping someone with his business... They can print a gazillion labels."

"However," he added, "I do comply with the law."

In addition, all faculty e-mail addresses are given on the CD. Like in Florida, faculty e-mail correspondence is also considered public information.

"I do get some static from folks, especially faculty and staff," Taylor said. "We're not going to be difficult. We have to allow access. We've tried to streamline this. We just look at it as not being adversarial."

Taylor said Florida's public information law is more broadly defined than Georgia's and is more encompassing.

However, Georgia law requires UGA to produce public information within three days.

"That's like saying that you can't have that First Amendment right," he said of denying the public's right to know. "You have to take the good with the bad. I tell people that get upset with me, 'I feel your pain. If you want to change the law, go to Atlanta and become a lobbyist.'"

Closer to home, Florida State University has seen a 10 percent increase in spam since October 2005. About 75 percent of e-mail coming into its systems is considered spam.

Director of University Computing Services Mike Barker said spam increases seem to be the trend among universities nationwide.

"It's a continually evolving thing, trying to outsmart the spammers," he said.

"It does require baby-sitting," he added.

FSU recently changed its policy, requiring a username and password to access student "directory information" online. Barker said this decision had nothing to do with spam problems.

The university experienced a 25 percent increase in total e-mail volume since October 2005, from 750,000 to 1.1 million.

UF, which does not require a login to access student information, has experienced a fourfold increase in unwanted e-mail over the last 18 months.

Like UF, FSU employs one full-time employee to oversee its student e-mail accounts. Some speculate that "bots" from spammers control other computers with fast Internet connections, Barker said.

FSU is connected to the UF-monitored Florida LambdaRail, a statewide fiber-optic network linking 10 state universities to the Internet and each others' research databases.

One university's computing issues, including slowdown due to excess spam, can affect the others, but Barker said he isn't concerned because of FSU's firewalls.

Despite any potential slowdown, the network is ideal because it offers a low-cost option for FSU, which, he said, "moves data at an unprecedented rate."

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