Opinion
As temperatures plummet around the valley, trousers and undies will surely follow.
Issue no.
page
3
29
Volume 23
First Issue
FREE
November 29, 2010
Sports
Do full body scanners violate right to privacy? Samantha Royce Journalist
Current NFL players reflect on their time playing as Broncos.
page
4
Culture
Students studying abroad at BSU discuss their experience.
page
7
Many students are traveling during the holidays. They already have to look forward to long lines and time-consuming security checks. Now, they will look forward to something else: full-body scanners that will peek under their clothing, using technology to reveal what is according to some, a strip search. Earlier this year, Rep. Phil Hart from Athol, Idaho, proposed bill HB 573 that would ban the scanners, called “whole-body imaging technology” in the bill. HB 573 passed in the Idaho House of Representatives but did not pass in the Senate. The new scanners are causing an uproar among civil rights advocates and some religious communities. “The government should enact procedures that pose the least threat to our civil liberties and are also proven to be effective,” the American Civil Liberties Union said Nov. 17. “Routine full body scanning, embarrassingly intimate patdowns and racial profiling do not fit those criteria.” “I wouldn’t be comfortable with the scanners if I thought that they were a foolproof way of making sure nothing bad ever happened on an airplane again,” said Amanda Patchin, a graduate student of English literature from Boise. “It’s just too high a price to pay for security ... We’ve gotten comfortable with having our freedoms infringed upon in the name of safety.” The scanners are also a concern for people whose religion requires modesty and bodily privacy. A British Muslim woman
and her female friend traveling with her were prevented from boarding their flights at Manchester Airport in February 2010 after they refused to be scanned. The Muslim woman cited religious reasons for her refusal. The other woman cited medical reasons. Muslims aren’t the only ones who are worried. Pope Benedict XVI recently expressed concern that the scanners may violate human dignity. According to The Guardian, the pope said at a Vatican meeting that although detecting terrorists is important, “the primary asset to be safeguarded and treasured is the person, in his or her integrity.” Feminists, the transgendered and the disabled are all worried about how these intimate body scans will affect them. Prosthetic limbs and other medical devices may show up as anomalies on the scanners. People with these items may have to undergo a detailed patdown in addition to being scanned. Parents are also concerned about their children being scanned. Michelle Nemphos’s 12-year-old daughter was selected to undergo the scan while traveling with a friend’s family. She was not told she could opt out of the scan. “Our daughter was scared and didn’t understand what was happening,” Nemphos told the St. Petersburg Times. “In essence they conducted a strip search on a 12-year-old girl without her parents present to advocate for her.” Patchin is also uncomfortable with the thought of children undergoing these full body scans. “I believe that the cutoff age (for being scanned) is something like 12,” Patchin said.
mct campus
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) demonstrated the new full-body scanner, Oct. 15 at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle, Washington. “And I have two sons that are considerably younger than that. So if they were 12 years old I would not be comfortable with them being subjected to that either.” Minors in the U.K. are barred from undergoing full body scans. The scans
Experts: Radiation used in body scanners is low, unlikely to hurt passengers Stephanie Scheibe Journalist The new high-security body scanners have air travelers worried about the health effects that may be associated with the new technology. In an Arbiter poll, 78 percent of respondents said they would choose a pat-down instead of going through a full body scanner. So whether a debate of ethics or a question of health risk, at least the latter of the issues can be dispelled. According to Vincent Serio, M.D., Director of Medical Services at Boise State, the health risk associated with the new technology is little to none. Good news, because already 385 full-body scanners will be in use across the United States this month. This technology, though debated on all levels, brings questions of safety and privacy to the forefront of aviation security. The scanners will enable security to detect anything concealed beneath a passenger’s clothing, revealing an image blurred by a privacy filter to protect the individual’s identity. There are two types of fullbody scanners in use and can detect anything from hidden weapons to liquids and narcotics. The advanced imaging technology is said to reveal both metallic and nonmetallic items beneath a passenger’s clothing, though the machine’s efficiency is continually debated. In a test session completed by the British Department
News Opinion Sports Culture The Arbiter
arbiteronline.com
The Independent Student Voice of Boise State Since 1933
for Transport, they found that for the most part the machine was accurate, but it failed to spot low-density materials such as plastic, chemicals and liquids. The waves, they said, easily pass through these items, leaving the image seen by security revealing only the passenger’s skin. While both authorize security personnel with similar imaging capabilities, the technology for each differs. Backscatter The Backscatter X-ray Unit accounts for the majority of the machines, including three at the Boise Airport. After scanning the body with a low-level energy Xray beam, a metallic like 3D image appearing similar to a film negative is produced. Could it hurt me? The radiation emitted in order to see through a layer of clothes is a lot less than the radiation produced from a regular X-Ray. Serio said passengers would have to go through a Backscatter machine three of four thousand times to equal the radiation dose of one chest X-ray. Millimeter Wave The Millimeter Wave Unit emits electromagnetic waves, passing through clothing, but bouncing off the skin. The 2D image looks like a chalk sketch. Could it hurt me? The millimeter wave scanner emits 10,000 times less radiation than a cell phone. There are no proven adverse health effects that are associated with the scanner, though future research is warranted because they have not been widely studied.
What’s Inside
page page page page
1-2 3 4-5 7-8
{STUDENT
VOICES}
Do full-body scanners violate privacy?
American students who will be traveling abroad during the holidays. Whether or not other countries face this problem is unknown. For information and links, view the article online: http://tinyurl.com/BoiseStateScanners
Online Poll:
How do you feel about using a fullbody scanner? I’ll choose a pat-down instead 56% I’m fine with it 32% I’m undecided 12%
Ashley Prince, 18, freshman, political science, Shelley
Marisol Garcia, 18, freshman, social work, Parma
“(No,) I feel like knowing security versus our rights, I do believe they’re a necessity for our protection. Certain rights can be taken away for the protection of the majority.”
“No because ... they’re not really invading anything I think. I don’t think it’s an invasion of privacy as long as you know what they’re doing.”
Ciarran Burch, 27, graduate student, public administration, Boise
Austin Stewart, 19, freshman, I.T.M., Weiser
“I do (think so), because somebody, somewhere is seeing you naked. That’s pretty gross.”
“No ... the airport does need security and it’s completely fine for them to scan (a) person for items they find dangerous.”
Bryce Gurney, 18, freshman, biology, Boise
Charles Sims, 18, freshman, psychology, Los Angeles
“No. They don’t show anything. They censor all the sensitive areas.”
“Definitely ... If you’re already opening your pockets to the metal detector, there’s no need for more investigation.”
Weather
Today
29º high
violate the U.K.’s child pornography laws. In the U.S., scanners-aspornography aren’t much of an issue yet. But in Nigeria, some security officials are using the scanners as an excuse to look at women’s near-naked bodies. This may be a concern for
Tomorrow
Partly Cloudy
chance of precip: 20%
34º high
Wednesday
Snow
chance of precip: 50%
40º high
Rain and snow
chance of precip: 30%
arbiteronline.com