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Stalking & Technology Social media blur the boundary of personal privacy, making it easier for people to follow you and harder for you to know when the following goes beyond their computer.
1 in 4 victims reported being stalked through some form of technology.
30
percent of stalking victims are stalked by a current or former partner.
Story By Corinne Burgermeister
Persons aged are subjected to stalking more than other age groups.
18 - 24
Mark Kauzlarich/the daily cardinal
The average duration of partner stalking is just over years
2
information courtesy of The National Stalking Resource Center
On Feb. 8 at 5:58 p.m., UW-Madison student “Alex Paverson” checked into Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Three of Alex’s Facebook friends saw the post and immediately followed Alex there. Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, a student organization dedicated to ending domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault, created Paverson’s page, resembling a typical UW student’s account, to raise awareness about the relationship between stalking and technology on campus. According to PAVE, the campaign was created to educate students on how easy it is to be located through online posts. They are not advocating for students to stop publishing information on social media sites but rather to show how stalking has changed with technological advancement. In an age dominated by Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare, one in four victims reports being followed through some form of technology, according to the National Stalking Resource Center. For one week UW-Madison students followed the Facebook page and were invited to find “Alex Paverson” checking in at places like Ian’s Pizza, the Student Activity Center and Redamte Coffeehouse. For college students, running into friends on a campus happens daily. Since they have set schedules and live in rela-
tively isolated environments, it can be hard to recognize stalking when it happens. Carmen Hotvedt, a violence prevention specialist from University Health Services, said stalking is any repeated behavior that can cause a reasonable person to feel fear, and can range from unwanted phone calls to following someone. “Is sending flowers stalking? No, not all the time. But it is when it sends a clear message over time,” Hotvedt said. Life Sciences Communications Professor Dietram Scheufele broadly described stalking as following people in inappropriate ways. It’s “not your traditional ‘hanging outside someone’s home’ or ‘following them around in a weird creepy way,’” Scheufele said. Scheufele said certain behavior can be considered stalking even if it might seem socially acceptable. “In the case of stalking, social norms are irrelevant,” Scheufele said. “If 20 people say you’re not being stalked, but you think you are, you are right.” Scheufele said students should consider if they benefit by adding a person they just met to their social media pages. “Do you really need the 1,001 friend?”
he asked. Hotvedt said stalking would still occur without technology, because the behaviors existed before. “[It] is really just another effective tool for stalkers to better access where the victim is,” Hotvedt said. Sharing a location will become a daily part of life and the methods will be perfected as technology further advances, Scheufele said. “There are going to be many more applications, and they’re going to make our lives easier,” Scheufele said. “But that also means if this is going to be a big chunk of our lives, we better learn how to use it responsibly.” Scheufele said it is important to be aware of what is actively shared online and what information is unintentionally revealed through global positioning systems on social media sites. “Picture the friend you like the most, and the friend you like the least,” Scheufele said. “Somewhere, everyone in that group will see everything you post.” The usage of the term “Facebook stalking” and other jokes that make light
The Daily Cardinal
A bill circulating in the state Legislature would allow landlords to evict tenants who commit a crime in or on a rental property once law enforcement notifies the landlord of the crime. Crimes that tenants could be evicted for might include underage drinking or noise complaints.
Rep. Mark Honadel, R-South Milwaukee, who introduced the bill, said it “would give landlords another tool to get their goodstanding tenants safe from harm.” Under the proposed legislation, the landlord may issue the tenant written eviction notice that gives him a minimum of five days to vacate the property. If the tenant challenges the eviction in court, he
can still be evicted if the landlord proves criminal activity occurred. Landlords could also evict tenants for criminal activity by a member of their household or a person invited onto the property by the tenants. After the tenant is evicted, the landlord can still require him to pay rent. The bill defines criminal
John Nichols rallied the crowd gathered outside the Capitol despite frigid temperatures.
Crowd celebrates last year’s protests Tyler Nickerson The Daily Cardinal
activity as “any act or behavior that is punishable in this state by fine or period of imprisonment or that is a violation of an ordinance of the county, city, village, or town in which the rental property is located.” Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said criminal activity in this
Around 500 people gathered in front of the Capitol Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the collective bargaining protests that consumed Madison last year. Speakers at the event spoke about the future of the progressive movement in Wisconsin and the recall effort underway against Gov. Scott Walker and four state Senators. Local Green Party activist and Executive Director of the Liberty Tree Foundation Ben Manski, who moderated the event, said he was pleased with the turnout and “good energy” considering the cold weather. Among the speakers Saturday were Assembly Minority Leader Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, President of the Professional Firefights of Wisconsin Mahlon Mitchell, Washington Correspondent for “The Nation” John Nichols and Charity Schmidt of the UW-Madison Teaching Assistants’ Association. “It was one year ago that, as the governor described it, he ‘dropped the bomb.’ And what a bomb it has been,” Barca said. “It has polarized and divided Wisconsin like never before.” UW student and candidate for Dane County Board District 5 Leland Pan also spoke at the event. He said students were central to the protests last year and
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Bill would allow landlord to evict tenants for crimes By Rachel Schulze
Monday, February 13, 2012
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”