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Miami tracks off campus students' addresses in case of emergency

Chelsea Davis, For The Miami Student

When students log onto BannerWeb, they may notice a pesky reminder to update Miami University on their local address. For some this seems puzzling and new, but it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

For a few years now, Miami has required students to provide their local address, Claire Wagner, director of News and Public Information said. If the student is living on campus, the university already has their address and the student isn't required to fill anything out. Students living off-campus, are required to give their local, off-campus address.

"This isn't new," Wagner said. "The only thing that may be new is how we're reminding people."

According to Wagner, students cannot continue onto BannerWeb without submitting the required information. This is the university's way of reminding students to update their address.

According to Wagner, the university wants off-campus addresses strictly to benefit students.

"We've been enhancing our emergency communications for the past few years," Wagner said. "When the Dean of Students gets a call about an off-campus emergency, they know who and how many students are in that house."

According to Wagner and the Office of Student Affairs, they cannot use the information for instances like last year's Indian-Themed party. This information is only to be used for emergency purposes. If addresses weren't provided and a student got in trouble for drinking at their home by the police, they would still get in trouble with the university.

The reasoning behind this hasn't been met without opposition or questioning.

"It's nice that they, the university, still care, but I don't want to get in trouble for throwing a party just because they have my address," Miami junior Evan Bruch said.

This was a concern for a number of students.

Wagner said the university having a student's address doesn't make them more likely to get in trouble for throwing a party.

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"Anytime a student does [throw parties], the only way they can get in trouble [with the university] is if they violate the student code of conduct or if the police are involved. Merely having their address doesn't change this," Wagner said.

The only people with access to the database of student addresses is the administrative staff within the Office of Student Affairs, the Dean of Students and some other administrative staff, according to Wagner. The information is private and intended for safety purposes only.