Volume 125 Issue 8 Wednesday, August 29, 2012 es kansan.com ON FILE PHOTO on after inter- to week," he as players to plans." by Luke Ranker SOCIATED PRESSail Big 12 Media don't think there wrong with going to be a very going to take any- lited by Hannah Wise SOCIAL INSECURITY WEKNOWYOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER RACHEL SALYER rsalyer@kansan.com Obtaining a social security number may be as simple as a pattern. Earl Glynn, a researcher for Watchdog Labs, said that for Kansans born between 1989 and 2011, he can accurately guess the first five or six digits of someone's Social Security number. "It's so easy to find someone's birthday online," Glynn said. "A scary part is that if you really wanted to, once you have the first five or six, you can get the others through guess and check." Glynn said he found the pattern after buying a copy of the SocialSecurity Administration's Death Master File, which has nearly 90 million names, Social Security numbers, date of birth and state of residence of the deceased. He created the pattern by making a chart comparing Kansans' Social Security numbers with their birthdays. "Basically what I've done is found the Socials of people that are living through people that are dead," Glynn said. Kansas Watchdog reported that anyone can purchase the file for $1,825. Using the chart provided to The University Daily Kansan by Kansas Watchdog, University students tested their own Social Security numbers and discovered they were no exception to the pattern. "It's a little concerning that it's so easy to break down, especially by your birthday," said Laci Colvin, a senior from Topeka. "It's so common and easy to get. You put it on social media and then anyone can have it." Jane Rosenthal, the director of the KU Privacy Office, said it's important for students to realize they are just as at risk as anybody for identity theft. "There will always be threats to our identity and private information as long as someone sees a financial gain for using it," Rosenthal said. Rosenthal said she had heard that Social Security numbers could be obtained through a pattern, but stopping people from obtaining the pattern wouldn't solve the problem. "The main issue is whether you are paying attention to your records and credit so that you are aware if it occurs," Rosenthal said. According to 2011 data from the KU Office of Institutional Research and Planning, 18,930 Kansans attended the University. Other data showed that 15,918 University 3students are 23 years old or younger. Glynn said the pattern works for students of that age because up until 2011, states issued Social Security numbers systematically by date of birth. AVOIDING IDENTITY THEFT PASSWORDs Use good password practices for all online work, shopping, etc. This includes strong passwords and not sharing passwords. Passwords should be unique and changed every 90 days. ANTI-VIRUS Keep your computer/electronic devices up-to-date with the current anti-virus and malware detection software. KU offers free Sophos Anti-Virus for Windows and Mac to students, faculty and staff. CREDIT CREDIT Check your credit reports annually. You can check for free at www.annualcreditreport.com. PAPER TRAIL PAPER TRAIL Securely store and dispose of information. Try going to online statements for banking and credit cards, and safely shred paper statements or credit offers. DEFINES DEVICES Do not leave your devices unattended and unlocked anywhere — that includes the library, coffee shop, even an unlocked dorm room, apartment or car. It only takes a second for a thief to run off with unattended devices. Information provided by KU Privacy Office CONTEST Students' designs win award RACHEL SALYER rsalyer@kansan.com Last year, the junior design student from Olathe drafted a design for the KU Office of Public Safety's police cars. The office was receiving a new fleet of Dodge Chargers. "It was kind of ironic, actually," Meier said. "I love fast cars and going fast, and there I was designing a cop car." Andrew Meier has an affinity for swanky-looking speedsters. Meier's design was selected and combined with George Ressler's, another University student at The University of Kansas Police Department asked Jeremy Shellhorn, associate professor of design, if any of his students could contribute their drafts for the design contest. The design won the college and university categories for the 2012 International Police Vehicle Design Contest in an August issue of Law and Order Magazine. the time. "We had seen that other departments were putting in their designs that weren't nearly as cool as ours, so we just decided we had to go for it," said Ralph Oliver, director of public safety for the The car also features the KU Buddy System logo, and KUPD's and the Crime Stoppers' phone numbers. Oliver said he wants the car to help KUPD communicate with students. "The blue swatch highlights the car nicely," the judges' comments read. "It is different than the traditional black-and-white, adding the blue and red outline." Lawrence campus. The judges favored Meier's design above the 17 other entries in the category. "Part of our job is to connect with our community and with our students, and it's hard to do because there are a lot of departments and entities on campus vying for their attention," Oliver sald. "Our service is more in the area of trying to educate our students in personal safety and the types of services that the public safety office supplies." Neither KUPD nor the student designers received prizes for winning the category, but that doesn't bother Meier. "I'm a car nerd." Meier said. "It's awesome just to see it driving around, but knowing that it won the contest is just cool for the bragging rights." HOUSING ASHLEIGH LEE/KANSAN The ARC, or Academic Resource Center, in the Templin Residence Hall has been renovated into a classroom to accommodate more classes. Other ARCs in student housing have been cut. ARCs updated for students NIKKI WENTLING nwentling@kansan.com "We were finding it difficult to effectively maintain non-production printers in these fairly high-use environments," wrote Diana Robertson, director of student housing, in an email. "There are several goals associated with this decision, the most important of which is to provide students with increased service levels." Residents of Oliver, Gertrude Sellards Pearson (GSP) and Templin may have noticed something missing from the Academic Resource Centers (ARCs) when they returned to campus this semester. The old printers were removed and new production printers were installed in the residence hall lobbies. Production printers have the capability to serve as a printer, copier, scanner and fax machine. They provide options like making color copies, two-sided printing and collating, all features that were unavailable before. Students living in any residence hall, scholarship halls or Jayhawker Towers are required to provide their own paper to use the ARC printers. Now, residents of Oliver, "I pretty much used all of my free printing." Her said. "It's hard on money; not everyone can afford it. I just wish that Oliver would have free printing again." Her said she thinks the University should increase the budget for free printing for residents in Oliver, GSP and Templin in order to offset the newly enacted fee. GSP and Templin must also pay a fee per page. For colored printing, the fee is 48 cents per page, and the charge for black-and-white printing is 8 cents per page. However, Robertson said that any savings from reducing the number of non-production printers in those dorms has been invested in updating computers in the ARCs, which Robertson said would be replaced on a two-year cycle. Ashley Her, a junior from Wichita, returned to Oliver for a second year. Since the beginning of the semester, she has used $6 of her $8 allotted for free printing. freshmen election season beginning Edited by Luke Ranker This semester, all ARCs are equipped with new Dell 990s. Also, a 60-inch LCD was installed in GSP for instructional use, and Templin will receive a 60-inch screen with SMART interactive overlay. STUDENT SENATE Student Senate will offer five freshmen an opportunity to get involved early in working on campus initiatives. Ballots will be posted on the KU website on Tuesday, Sept. 4 and Wednesday, Sept. 5. Freshmen interested in running must turn in a declaration of candidacy today, along with the required petition of 50 student signatures. Also, a mandatory meeting for all candidates will be held today in Alderson Auditorium at 5 p.m. This will give them an opportunity to meet each other and go over the rules of the election before campaigning begins. Unlike other senate positions, freshman candidates are not selected based on their professional school or housing location. "You can be in any school or college; just as long as you're a freshman, you can run," said Student Senate chief of staff Thomas Plummer. "Usually we get about 20 to 25 people who run. It's pretty hefty for freshman." Candidates can start campaigning as soon as they turn in the required paperwork. Students can expect to see chalking, fliers and creative promotions over the next week. Another alternative for freshmen involves interming with the Jayhawk Leadership, Education and Development Program (JayLEAD). The 12 students selected will work with the Senate Executive Staff by helping with several tasks including researching and drafting legislation, and working with campus administrators. "That's what I did as a freshman, and I thought it was phonomenal," Plummer said. Applications are due Wednesday, Sept. 12, giving students who don't receive a position in Senate an opportunity to run for JayLEAD instead. Returning students can run as replacement senators. Several openings are available for graduate students. The deadline for applications is Friday, Sept. 14, and must be turned in to the Student Senate Office in the Kansas Union. CLASSIFIES 7 CRYPTOQUIPS 4 SPORTS 8 CROSSWORD 7 OPINION 5 SUDUNK 4 Elise Reuter All contents, unless stated otherwise. © 2012 The University Daily Kansan Don't forget to eat breakfast! It's the most important meal of the day.