VOL 120, Issue 8 - November 3rd, 2022

04
THURSDAY
NOV. 3,
2022
NEWS
USF ANNOUNCES NEW DATA ETHICS FELLOWSHIP
MEGAN ROBERTSON
Staff Writer
Living in the digital age, we are more intimately connected to technology than
any other era. Every tap on your phone gives tech companies information about
you. Your phone knows every message you have ever sent, every word you have
spoken to Siri, the speed you drive at, your location, and your mood.
Americans are spending over eight hours a day on screens, new studies show.
With so much time spent online, many have begun to wonder what happens with
all of this data.
The Bay Area is the birthplace of the online landscape today, and is home to
nearly 8,000 influential tech companies. Because of its proximity to this climate,
USF has founded a new data ethics fellows program on a donation from Craig
Newmark, the founder of Craigslist.
As a part of the Center for Applied Data Ethics, two activist scholars are
tasked with designing a new ethics curriculum for data science students on campus:
Christina Boyles, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, and Nantina
Vgontzas, who is coming from a postdoctoral fellowship at New York University.
Boyles’ interest in data ethics comes from her work in grassroots activism after
environmental disasters in Puerto Rico. She said that “many of the government
agencies use data as a way of determining who has the most need.” Her focus at USF
is the intersection of community, disaster, government, and technology.
Vgontzas’ passion comes from labor work around technology. “I've been a labor
movement activist since college. Now, there is the use of technology to further
control workers movements,” they said. “I’m very animated by the question of how
workers are building power in contemporary capitalism, looking at the algorithmic
organization of work at Amazon.com.”
Vgontzas and Boyles will spend the next year developing their curricula to be
used in data science courses in the fall of 2023.
78% respondents in a Foghorn survey said they do not think students are well versed in protecting their data.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN ROBERTSON/SF FOGHORN.
“We're often feeding data into a surveillance machine that is then being used
and processed in ways that we might not sign up for,” Boyles said.
To get a better understanding of what data privacy concerns exist on the Hilltop,
the Foghorn circulated a survey on Instagram. Although none of the survey
questions required a response, out of 21 respondents, 11 people gave their full name,
17 people gave their email, and 14 people gave their personal phone number. This
personal data, in the wrong hands, can be used in identity theft and online scams.
These students, while giving their data away, may be somewhat conscious of
the fact that they are in jeopardy. Fifty percent of respondents said they do not consider
themselves safe online and 78% of respondents said they do not think students
are well versed in protecting their data.
Vgontzas saw some of these same concerns in their time working with students
at NYU. “They're being trained in the technical know-how of engineering and designing
online platforms, but they are wondering at the end of the day, where's that
data going?” they said.
Boyles said she wants students to “push back against that surveillance machine.”
“I'm really hoping that students start to identify moments where surveillance
is happening, to understand what the risks of that might be,” she said.
Boyles also said that even university required apps and websites can cause
harm. Canvas LMS, which USF students use to turn in their coursework, was sold
to a private equity investment firm in Dec. 2019. The company has said they are not
going to sell user data, but that promise is not legally binding.
During the Foghorn’s interview with Boyles, she pointed out that Zoom, the
application the interview was conducted on, “has one of the most loose privacy
policies, where they're really allowed to do anything with the recordings. So as we
use this tool, they could take this recording and use it in commercials, or they could
sell our data to third-party data brokers.”
According to the Foghorn’s survey, some students on campus are not thinking
about the data implications of the platforms they
choose to use, let alone the ones they are required to.
Eighteen of the 21 respondents use Google
Chrome and Gmail as their primary search engines
and email hosts, despite extensive evidence that Google
does not care about respecting users’ privacy. In 2018
it was revealed that the tech giant would track users’
locations, even with location history turned off.
Only nine percent of respondents use a virtual private
network (VPN), which can help protect your data
from being tracked and obscure your location from prying
eyes. Forty-three percent of respondents typically
allow cookies, files that websites send to your device
and to track your online habits.
Kaylee Rameriez, a third-year kinesiology major,
accepts cookies when she is in a hurry. “I feel like no one
is told what you’re really accepting by clicking yes on
the site. So, it feels like it doesn’t really matter.”
While it may feel like all this online tracking won’t
add up to much, or will only personalize your ads,
there are real world consequences to the compilation
of this information. In August, a Nebraska woman was
charged with two felonies for helping her daughter end
her pregnancy, based on Facebook messages investigators
obtained detailing her purchase of abortion pills.
Beyond the government, this personal data can
also be lost to hackers, like last year’s major T-Mobile
breach, which exposed the data of 47.8 million users
— data which showed up again on the dark web, being
sold for $270,000.
Going into this fellowship, Boyles hopes that after
learning about these data concerns, ethical ideals will
become a long term practice for students. “As they go
into their professional lives, we’re hoping that they start
making change in the workplace,” she said. “The power
imbalance that technology has right now needs to be
in a healthier place that really emphasizes people first
— to treat people well as opposed to making corporate
profit.”
Savannah Dewberry contributed to the reporting of
this story.
ASUSF SENATE RESOLUTION PROMOTES
MENSTRUAL PRODUCT ACCESSIBILITY
Period products are few and far between at USF. PHOTO BY MEGAN ROBERTSON/SF FOGHORN
JORDAN DELFIUGO
Staff Writer
Sofia Fontana, the pre-medicine student representative
for ASUSF Senate, presented a resolution
last Wednesday asking that all campus bathrooms be
stocked with menstrual products. The proposed resolution
followed a Sept. 29 investigation by Senate that
found only 17 menstrual pads across all USF bathrooms.
Senate is collecting comments and suggestions
from students prior to voting on the proposal.
A Boston Medical Center women’s health study
cited in the resolution found that one in ten college
students struggle to afford menstrual products each
month. The resolution additionally called on a promise
in USF’s maintenance services to restock these products
daily.
Fontana explained her decision to draft the proposal.
“I think USF should live up to its mission of
cura personalis through accessibility,” she said. As inflation
is on the rise, “expensive sanitary items are even
less accessible.
“Menstrual cycles are also unpredictable, which
could interfere with academics if there is no accessibility
to pads,” she continued. “USF should feel safe,
supportive, and accessible for all, to get what they need
to be personally and academically successful.”
In the proposed resolution, fourth-year student
Isabella del Rosario gave a statement expressing how
this resolution speaks to more pervasive issues of inclusivity
on campus, “Not only is having these products
available to students serving people’s basic hygiene
needs, but also supports the inclusion and uplifting
of various student identities in regards to sex, gender,
age, etc.”
Fourth-year psychology major Ellie Carpenter
has run into a lack of menstrual products on cmapus.
“Most of the times I’ve gone to the bathroom
and needed pads or tampons — actually, I would stay
nearly all of the time — they have not been stocked,”
she said. “The rare times that they were fully stocked,
it was a huge relief.”
Second-year business marketing major Maddy
Schwann shared that she had a similar experience with
this. “A good majority of bathrooms don’t have the
products there in general, but the ones that do seem to
be frequently all gone or nearing close to being gone,”
she said. “I imagine the men’s room and general neutral
bathrooms are equally, if not more neglected.”
Schwann expressed why she feels this resolution is
an especially important one to pass, “It’s very important
for these products to be available because menstrual
cycles are often irregular and hard to predict. Many
women have been in the situation where they need a
pad or a tampon last minute.”
During the Senate’s comment period, students
with thoughts about the proposed resolution can send
a direct message to the Senate’s Instagram @asusf_
senate.
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NEWS