SCENE THE
THE
Spring Issue 3
March 29, 2019
THESCENEFP.COM
www.thescenefp.com
Spring: What’s to like? See page 3
Relationships are work See page 7
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
STLCC students are exposed to data breach By Joshua Phelps The Scene staff
St. Louis Community College mistakenly emailed personal information on nearly 4,000 students to Bayless School District in south St. Louis County. “On March 1, student information was sent to a school district that STLCC partners with,” said Nez Savala, communications manager for STLCC. “Once it was discovered that the information was sent, we followed up right away and contacted the school district.” Bayless quickly deleted the email, Savala said, and the college was able to confirm that the information wasn’t downloaded or shared. The information included names, addresses, stuSavala dent-identification numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, enrollment terms, dates of birth, high schools, majors, genders and races. The information didn’t include Social Security numbers, Savala said. “A lot of this data could be considered directory information, but there’s things in there that could not be considered directory information,” she said. Savala said STLCC notified affected students of the data breach by sending them letters within three working days. The college set up a “response center” for students who have questions about the data breach and is providing additional training to staff in “data minimization and handling of sensitive data.” The response center has received inquiries from about 50 students, Savala said. This is the second time in a little over a year that STLCC has discovered a data breach. Last March, the college mistakenly emailed personal information on 362 students to other STLCC students. That included names, email addresses, student-identification numbers and home addresses. The college immediately reported the incident to federal agencies to let them know what happened, Savala said. “We followed protocol,” she said. “We followed procedures. We made sure to contact the students who were affected to let them know what happened and gave them contact information for any questions.”
Students want fitness center access By Joshua Phelps The Scene staff Forest Park’s Student Government Association wants the college to end a policy that prevents students from using the fitness center unless they’re taking a fitness class. “(The students) feel like it should be open to everybody, and it’s not,” said SGA Vice President Lester Hope, 19. Hope, a forensics major, said he has personally received several complaints about it. The fitness center is in the Physical Education Building on campus. It has weights and other strength equipment, as well as cardio machines such as recumbent bikes and treadmills. About 200 students enroll in fitness classes each semester, giving them access to the fitness center, according to Mark Applegate, lead faculty member in health and wellness. Forest Park has a total enrollment of more than 4,650 students this spring. General transfer studies student Sadie Schaffner, 19, who’s taking a pilates class, called the fitness-center policy “kind of ridiculous. It should be more accessible.” Students must be enrolled in a fitness class or be auditing a fitness class to use the fitness center, Applegate said. The same poli-
See Fitness page 8
Photo by Neftali Acosta
General studies student Tyramel Harrell, 20, spots automotive technology major Robert Zirbel, 24, in the weight room, which is part of the Forest Park fitness center.
Doors open on new keycard system By Neftali Acosta The Scene staff Forest Park has hundreds of faculty and staff members and all of them need keycards to get into classrooms and offices. Managing the system isn’t an easy job. Each group of employees has a different requirement on how often keycards have to be reactivated. “Student workers get six months,” said Tim Cary, the person in charge of issuing, reactivating and distributing keycards. “… Adjuncts (part-time instructors) get a year,
and full time get two.” Cary got the job of “key master” in the facilities department last semester. Before that, he worked part time in the Forest Park mailroom then full time at the information desk in the Student Center lobby. The college created his new position as part of a revamped keycard system. In the past, it was the responsibility of campus police and later campus police and facilities. Many people found fault with both systems, which took police away from their primary responsibility of law enforcement. Employees also complained that they didn’t
get keycards reactivated in a timely manner. Today, everyone seems happier with the new system because it’s simpler logistically. It also allows full-time employees to go two years instead of one before having to reactivate keycards, and adjuncts to go one year instead of having to reactivate at the beginning of each semester. “We try to make everything pretty easy,” Cary said. “My whole goal is, once I give you the key, I won’t see you for a year as far as the keys go.” Campus police also like the new keycard system. “With facilities now handling that responsibility, it gives us more time to provide a safer and secure environment for the campus and take care of our other responsibilities,” said Lt. David A. Berryman. Police are still involved in the system in two ways: They will let employees into their classrooms or offices if they forget their keycards, and they will investigate if keycards are lost or stolen. “(The employees) would have to make a police report and then have a replacement key made,” Berryman said.
Most employees need cards
Photo by Timothy Bold
Tim Cary updates keycards for Forest Park faculty and staff members in his office at Warehouse Receiving.
Keycards are given to all Forest Park employees who need access to classrooms or offices. Those that go into electronic door locks are considered more secure than metal keys that go into mechanized door locks because the electronic locks can’t be picked. Electronic door locks serve another purpose: They keep track of which employees
See Keycards page 8