Encouraging students to snitch on each other will not lead to anything good. What are the odds of this being abused?
The College Fix reports:
‘Ethics’ app at Clemson allows students to instantaneously report on each other with texts, videosStudents at Clemson University can now anonymously report real or perceived misconduct by peers, faculty or staff with a single text.The public, South Carolina-based institution recently announced it would become the first university to offer campus-wide the “RealResponse platform,” described as an “anonymous ethics reporting app” and a way to make the school “safe,” officials stated in a mid-October news release.The Clemson Athletics Department has used it since 2016, and now it is being expanded to everyone; Clemson students, faculty and staff can use the system to anonymously text administration reports of “misconduct and integrity issues.”“Students, faculty and staff can now send anonymous text tips, including photos and videos,” the university stated in the news release. “Activity on the platform is monitored by Clemson’s Office of Internal Auditing and the Office of University Compliance and Ethics.”Some students expressed concern.“Clemson administrators want to encourage the reporting of misconduct, but the university already provides several channels for anonymous reporting,” Emily Cope, a Clemson undergraduate, told The College Fix on November 26.“The difference with RealResponse is that students and faculty have the ability to make reports in real-time photos and videos. Third parties may be videoed or photographed without their knowledge or consent, and their alleged ‘misconduct’ permanently documented by the university,” she said.“If there is a genuine concern, students should contact the appropriate authorities to intervene instead, not bureaucratic university officials whose real concern is protecting the university itself,” Cope said.Editors of the Tiger Town Observer also argued that “a real-time text message reporting system hands university administrators unwarranted, discretionary power to investigate third-party individuals.”
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