With student Social Security numbers being used on campus for everything from sign-up sheets at the Health Center to residence hall reports, Rider could be in violation of federal law, according to a Union County Prosecutor Thomas Manahan.
            Rider uses the Social Security number (SSN) on class roll sheets, drop/add forms, student and faculty identification (ID) cards, incident reports, resident adviser rosters, change of grade forms and even ticket reservations for student-funded activities.
            "Although Rider may be permitted by law or regulation to request a student's Social Security number for a limited purpose such as to confirm the identity of a student, the university should take appropriate measures to safeguard this critical identifier," said Manahan. "The failure to protect this identifier from misuse may expose the University to liability."
            "We realize that the Social Security number is used, and we emphasize its confidentiality," said Stephanie Polak, associate director of Residence Life. "We are very concerned about that."                         There is no reason why the Rider student ID number should not be used, instead of an SSN, when identifying a student, according to Polak.
            ID numbers, computer-generated and unique to the University, are used on grade reports submitted by the faculty, but not on many other forms.
            The SSN and birth date, also readily available on campus, are all a thief needs to steal someone's identity or commit credit fraud, according to the FBI website. Even terrorists can use the information to obtain false identification or passports.
            "It is really frightening that so many students and faculty have access to our personal data," said Liz Mannino, a junior computer information systems and finance major.
            Rider, however, continues its ubiquitous use of SSNs as a primary identifier despite the proliferation of identity theft and credit fraud.
            "It [the SSN] is widely used on campus for educational record-keeping," said Dean of Students Anthony Campbell. "It's a unique identifier."
            Larry Johnson, associate dean of students, agreed, calling the SSN "the best, sure-fire identifier that we have."
            Johnson also stated that federal law permits such private information to be accessed, only under specified conditions.
            "The Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) allows for personally identifying information to be shared with faculty and staff without students' consent for legitimate educational purposes," said Johnson.
            Yet senior Frank Gramlich described how he had to give his SSN in order to get a ticket for a recent show in the Student Center.
            "It's really ridiculous that I had to provide that info just to see a comedian," said Gramlich.
            Another student, senior Mike Michaud, also felt uneasy when providing his SSN to attend a campus event. "I don't feel comfortable giving out my Soc," said Michaud.
            Dean Campbell and Johnson stated that they were unaware that students had to give their SSNs to attend Student Entertainment Council functions. "I don't understand it with the purchase of tickets," Campbell said. 
            Educational offices said they are stricter regarding the use of the numbers.
            "Reports are not routinely printed with Social Security numbers and names both appearing," said Joanne Ceres, assistant registrar. "It does, however, appear on printed class rosters that go to the faculty member. That member must return that report back to us where it is maintained by our office. After a period, the report is shredded and disposed of by an outside company."
            However, professors stated the first drafts of class rosters do not have to be returned to the registrar, and the second versions include a copy for the professor to keep. "Please confirm, or correct, sign and return one copy and keep duplicate copy," said a memo to faculty dated Feb. 12 from registrar Susan A. Stefanick that accompanied this semester's second set of class rolls with SSNs.
            Ceres noted that her office does not hire student workers because of the amount of sensitive information that is available. "We cannot take a chance that way," she said.
            The Residence Life Office (RLO), however, does appear to take more risks.
            It provides student resident advisers (RAs) with building rosters that contain the name, date of birth and SSN of every individual in that residence hall, providing an unscrupulous person the required information to steal one's identity.
            "Rosters were not collected by RLO in previous years, to my knowledge," said Ziegler Residence Hall RA Kimberly Wilson. "I always make sure my roster is destroyed and disposed of in an appropriate manner."
            Lincoln Resident Director Anthony Skevakis also disposed his own rosters. "I can only speak for myself, but when I got a new roster, I would shred the old one," said Skevakis.
            The kind of information available on campus helped provide passports, driver's licenses and credit cards to the terrorists who committed the violent attacks on Sept. 11, according to Union County Prosecutor Thomas Manhan.
            In the county's newsletter, Manhan described the importance of protecting documents, which contain any personal information.
            "Through the lack of appropriate monitoring and detection of those who handle official documents, the terrorists were provided with the means to implement their horrific plan," said Manhan.
            More often, SSNs are used to steal identity for credit fraud. According to the Secret Service website, in 1997 more than $745 million was lost to identity theft. This has increased substantially, said the Identity Theft Resource Center's website. The number of cases has grown 30 percent to 40 percent a year since the late 1990s.
            Although the widespread use of SSNs on campus has yet to cause any known problems, Johnson agreed that the current system should be evaluated.
            He said, "I think that the University needs to look into it."