"School Phone" = Good intentions?

[draconis]

Gakked from radarrider:

According to this article from WCBS-TV:

MONTCLAIR, N.J. (CBS) ― College students at Montclair State University are all talking about a new requirement that will require students to have a cell phone.

They've upped the tuition by $420 a year (base), and in return provide the students with a 'School Phone,' complete with "student activated emergency GPS tracking."

They don't define that term, but the implication from the rest of the article is that the GPS system will be turned on and actively monitored:

"What it does is allow students to have an extra pair or group of people watching over them when they're going from one location to another," Montclair Police Department Chief Paul Cell said.

That sounds to me like the local police are planning to actively monitor students' locations with these things. I realize that the students can just turn off the phone, or not carry it with them... but I really don't like the implications.

Comments

[alysswolf.livejournal.com]

Here's a blog article that seems to explain the program a bit better and makes it seem a lot more useful than intrusive. http://handheldlib.blogspot.com/2006/03/montclair-state-uses-gps-cell-phones.html

[jcbdragon.livejournal.com]

oh, ho! That is a *very* different thing!

Thanks for the info!