A memo from President M. Peter McPherson released to The State News on Monday said new undercover surveillance guidelines will be placed in the Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide starting next year.
Spartan Life, which is distributed to all on-campus students, establishes rules and laws for MSU students.
The addition is the result of more than a year and a half spent on revising the rules for undercover operations by MSU administrators and student leaders. New guidelines were released by McPherson on Sept. 10.
“I want it in the Spartan Life book, and each subsequent edition, because it is intended as a permanent procedure,” McPherson said. “People will be reminded of its importance.”
It was more than 18 months ago when The State News exposed a sting by MSU police on the group Students Against Sweatshops, now called the Students for Economic Justice.
Shortly thereafter, McPherson said he gave the green light to a campus officer to go undercover and pose as a student for about four months in the group.
Students and faculty members disagreed with the decision and the Board of Trustees approved the revised rules for undercover surveillance in September 2001, stating such operations were only valid under “extraordinary circumstances.”
Those circumstances included if any illegal acts or violent outcomes were possible by protesters. The new guidelines also state all undercover activity must be recorded in a public document.
Jonathan Verstraete is a mentor in Emmons Hall who remembers the incident and said he felt it was not a big issue, but the surveillance infringed on the students’ constitutional rights. He said he is also glad to see the new guidelines in the handbook.
“I’d think it’d be good to notify students so they can see what it’s all about,” the supply chain management sophomore said. “Obviously, if kids are breaking the law, it’s OK (to infiltrate).”
Jared English, chairperson of the University Committee on Student Affairs, was involved with the process of creating the new guidelines and is glad to see them readily available to students.
“It’s a good thing - a great thing,” the international relations senior said. “It’s about accountability. It sets things up front.”
