I accept that its legal but is it constitutional? I thought a students personal information was condifential and couldnt be released without the permission of the parent/guardian?!
On Mon, Nov 2, 2009 at 9:50 AM, plainolamerican <[email protected]>wrote: > > it allows the military to ILLEGALLY acquire our young ones Identity? > --- > no, it's legal > > the good news - you can opt your children out, but you have to find > and fill out the form and present it to your school. Pray that the > principle/staff/teacher who collects and manages the files is not a > proud pro-military supporter. > > otoh - it's hard to prevent the school from sending your child to an > auditorium to listen to recruiters > you can, however, instruct your child not to attend. Again, hope that > your child's teacher is not a proud pro-military supporter. > > On Nov 1, 9:51 pm, Malclom Little <[email protected]> wrote: > > This is yet another reason why the No Child Left Behind Act is complete > and > > total Bulls$%t!!!! It requires students to take standardized test that > > colleges dont really look at. Teachers are subsequently compelled to > teach > > to test and only cover what the test will cover. And to make matters > worst > > it allows the military to ILLEGALLY acquire our young ones Identity? I > love > > this country to death but this is ridiculous!!!!!... > > > > read more » > > > > > > > > On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 11:21 AM, M. Johnson <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > *A Few Good Kids? > > > **How Iow the No Child Left Behind Act allowed military recruiters to > > > collect info on millions of unsuspecting teens > > > *by David Goodman > > > > > September/October 2009 Issue <http://www.motherjones.com/toc/2009/09> > > > > > *John Travers* was striding purposefully into the Westfield mall in > > > Wheaton, Maryland, for some back-to-school shopping before starting his > > > junior year at Bowling Green State University. When I asked him whether > he'd > > > ever talked to a military recruiter, Travers, a 19-year-old African > American > > > with a buzz cut, a crisp white T-shirt, and a diamond stud in his left > ear, > > > smiled wryly. "To get to lunch in my high school, you had to pass > > > recruiters," he said. "It was overwhelming." Then he added, "I thought > the > > > recruiters had too much information about me. They called me, but I > never > > > gave them my phone number." > > > > > Nor did he give the recruiters his email address, Social Security< > http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/05/security-blanket-how-soci...>number, > or details about his ethnicity, shopping habits, or college plans. > > > Yet they probably knew all that, too. In the past few years, the > military > > > has mounted a virtual invasion into the lives of young Americans. Using > data > > > mining, stealth websites, career tests, and sophisticated marketing > > > software, the Pentagon is harvesting and analyzing information on > everything > > > from high school students' GPAs and SAT scores to which video games > they > > > play. Before an Army recruiter even picks up the phone to call a > prospect > > > like Travers, the soldier may know more about the kid's habits than do > his > > > own parents. > > > > > The military has long struggled to find more effective ways to reach > > > potential enlistees; for every new GI it signed up last year, the Army > spent > > > $24,500 on recruitment. (In contrast, four-year colleges spend an > average of > > > $2,000 per incoming student.) Recruiters hit pay dirt in 2002, when > > > then-Rep. (now Sen.) David Vitter< > http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2007/07/senator-david-vitter-hurrican...>(R-La.) > slipped a provision into the No > > > Child Left Behind Act< > http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2002/11/no-child-unrecruited>that > requires high schools to give recruiters the names and contact details > > > of all juniors and seniors. Schools that fail to comply risk losing > their > > > NCLB funding. This little-known regulation effectively transformed > President > > > George W. Bush's signature education bill into the most aggressive > military > > > recruitment tool since the draft. Students may sign an opt-out formbut > not > > > all school districts let them know about it. > > > > > Yet NCLB is just the tip of the data iceberg. In 2005, privacy > advocates > > > discovered that the Pentagon had spent the past two years quietly > amassing > > > records from Selective Service, state DMVs, and data brokers to create > a > > > database of tens of millions of young adults and teens, some as young > as 15. > > > The massive data-mining project is overseen by the Joint Advertising > Market > > > Research & Studies program, whose website <http://www.jamrs.org/> has > > > described the database, which now holds 34 million names, as "arguably > the > > > largest repository of 16-25-year-old youth data in the country." The > JAMRS > > > database is in turn run by Equifax, the credit reporting giant. > > > > > Marc Rotenberg, head of the Electronic Privacy Information Center< > http://epic.org/>, > > > says the Pentagon's initial failure to disclose the collection of the > > > information likely violated the Privacy Act< > http://www.hhs.gov/foia/privacy/index.html>. > > > In 2007, the Pentagon settled a lawsuit (filed by the New York Civil > > > Liberties Union) by agreeing to stop collecting the names and Social > > > Security numbers of anyone younger than 17 and promising not to share > its > > > database records with other government agencies. Students may opt out > of > > > having their JAMRS database information sent to recruiters, but only > 8,700 > > > have invoked this obscure safeguard. > > > > > The Pentagon also spends about $600,000 a year on commercial data > brokers, > > > notably the Student Marketing Group and the American Student List, > which > > > boasts that it has records for 8 million high school students. Both > > > companies have been accused of using deceptive practices to gather > > > information: In 2002, New York's attorney general sued SMG for telling > high > > > schools it was surveying students for scholarship and financial aid > > > opportunities yet selling the info to telemarketers; the Federal Trade > > > Commission charged ASL with similar tactics. Both companies eventually > > > settled. > > > > > The Pentagon is also gathering data from unsuspecting Web surfers. This > > > year, the Army spent $1.2 million on the website March2Success.com< > https://www.march2success.com/index.cfm>, > > > which provides free standardized test-taking tips devised by prep > firms<http://www.motherjones.com/politics/1998/11/those-who-cant-test>such > as Peterson's, Kaplan, and Princeton Review. The only indications that > > > the Army runs the site, which registers an average of 17,000 new users > each > > > month, are a tiny tagline and a small logo that links to the main > > > recruitment website, GoArmy.com. Yet visitors' contact information can > be > > > sent to recruiters unless they opt out, and students also have the > option of > > > having a recruiter monitor their practice test scores. Terry Backstrom, > who > > > runs March2Success.com for the US Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, > > > insists that it is about "good will," not recruiting. "We are providing > a > > > great service to schools that normally would cost them." > > > > > Recruiters are also data mining the classroom. More than 12,000 high > > > schools administer the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a > > > three-hour multiple-choice test originally created in 1968 to match > > > conscripts with military assignments. Rebranded in the mid-1990s as the > > > "ASVAB Career Exploration Program," the test has a cheerful home page > that > > > makes no reference to its military applications, instead declaring that > it > > > "is designed to help students learn more about themselves and the world > of > > > work." A student who takes the test is asked to divulge his or her > Social > > > Security number, GPA, ethnicity, and career interestsall of which is > then > > > logged into the JAMRS database. In 2008, more than 641,000 high school > > > students took the ASVAB; 90 percent had their scores sent to > recruiters. > > > Tony Castillo of the Army's Houston Recruiting Battalion says that > ASVAB is > > > "much more than a test to join the military. It is really a gift to > public > > > education." > > > > > Concerns about the ASVAB's links to recruiting have led to a nearly 20 > > > percent decline in the number of test takers between 2003 and 2008. But > the > > > test is mandatory at approximately 1,000 high schools. Last February, > three > > > North Carolina students were sent to detention for refusing to take it. > One, > > > a junior named Dakota Ling, told the local paper, "I just really don't > want > > > the military to have all the info it can on me." Last year, the > California > > > Legislature barred schools from sending ASVAB results to military > > > recruiters, though Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill. The Los > > > Angeles and Washington, DC, school districts have tried to protect > students' > > > information by releasing their scores only on request. > > > > > To put all its data to use, the military has enlisted the help of > Nielsen > > > Claritas, a research and marketing firm whose clients include BMW, AOL, > and > > > Starbucks. Last year, it rolled out a "custom segmentation" program > that > > > allows a recruiter armed with the address, age, race, and gender of a > > > potential "lead" to call up a wealth of information about young people > in > > > the immediate area, including recreation and consumption patterns. The > > > program even suggests pitches that might work while cold-calling > teenagers. > > > "It's just a foot in the door for a recruiter to start a relevant > > > conversation with a young person," says Donna Dorminey of the US Army > Center > > > for Accessions Research. > > > > > Still, no amount of data slicing can fix the challenge of recruiting > during > > > wartime. Last year, a JAMRS survey identified recruiters' single > biggest > > > obstacle: Only 5 percent of parents would recommend military service to > > > their kids, a situation blamed on "a constant barrage of negative media > > > coverage on the War in Iraq." Not surprisingly, more and more kids are > > > opting out of having their information shared with recruiters under No > Child > > > Left Behind; in New York City, the number of students opting out has > doubled > > > in the past five years, to 45,000 in 2008. At some schools, 90 percent > of > > > students have opted out. In 2007, JAMRS awarded a $50 million contract > to > > > Mullen Advertising to continue its marketing campaign to target > > > "influencers" such as parents, coaches, and guidance counselors. The > result: > > > print ads that declare, "Your son wants to join the military. The > question > > > isn't whether he's prepared enough, but whether you are." > > > > > Not far from the mall in Maryland, I asked 21-year-old Marcelo Salazar, > > > who'd been a cadet in his high school's Junior Reserve Officer Training > > > Corps, why he'd decided not to enlist after graduating from John F. > Kennedy > > > High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, in 2005. Now a community > college > > > student, he replied that his mother was firmly against it. > > > > > Then,- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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