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FAFSAs examined for links to terrorism

September 12, 2006

MSU students' information provided in financial aid applications might have been used in an FBI search for possible terrorists, MSU officials say.

Rick Shipman, director of the MSU Office of Financial Aid, said MSU officials do not know whose data was given out or what students were chosen.

"(The FBI) has not given any information to MSU," Shipman said. "They were profiling students with certain characteristics.

"It sounded like they were targeting noncitizens."

Shipman added that MSU does not have a large population of noncitizen students.

The program, entitled Project Strikeback, involved the U.S. Education Department looking up students' information in its databases to match names of possible terrorists provided by the FBI beginning after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"During the 9/11 investigation and continually since, much of the intelligence has indicated terrorists have exploited programs involving student visas and financial aid," said John Miller, assistant director to the FBI, in a press release. "In some student loan frauds, identity theft has been a factor."

The department's central database stores information on all of the roughly 14 million students who apply for financial aid each year, even after they have repaid the loans.

MSU officials receive about 43,000 FAFSA applications a year, but only 25,000 are from students who actually end up attending the university.

Shipman said the FBI has not made an official statement, but it was finding that the information was not helpful. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, lists the student's and their parents' names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, household incomes and assets.

"I cannot see what they were getting that they did not have access to before," Shipman said, adding that he did not believe students had anything to worry about.

"When you sign the FAFSA, you are agreeing that the federal government can use your data," Shipman said. "This is just one of the ways they are using it."

Mary Mitchelson, counsel to the inspector general for the Department of Education, said in a press release that they began Project Strikeback because "the FBI requested the information pursuant to Exemption (b)(7) of the Privacy Act, which authorizes the release of personal data for purposes of a criminal investigation."

The FBI identified the people they were looking for, and the Department of Education looked to see if they ever applied for or received financial aid.

According to the release, the department also reviewed the results to make sure students' information was not abused and did not find any misused cases.

"We supplied some information to the FBI," Mitchelson said.

The FBI received less than 1,000 names from the department, she said, many of which were duplicated.

"Most of our efforts took place right after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," Mitchelson said. "Over the last few years, we committed fewer than 50 hours to the effort."

The project ended in June, and the Department of Education spent less than 600 hours working with the program.

International relations freshman Andy Cease said the project seems irresponsible.

"I am sure there is a more upfront way to look for terrorists," Cease said. "People whose information was looked at didn't know what was going on. Many of them were probably not involved in any activities."

There is a fine line between a person's individual rights and looking for terrorists, but overall it is a good thing, said Ann Marie Gordenier, an international relations sophomore.

"After something like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks happen, it is good to double check and make sure there isn't a bigger threat out there than the one that already happened," Gordenier said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Fredricka Paul can be reached at paulfred@msu.edu.

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