Six students are working together for the ability to remove personal information from the ISU online directory.

The class, Dare to be Aware, is an Honors 322 program that concentrates on educating students about ISU resources, support and ways to get involved with organizations pertaining to personal safety and community care. The course includes an intervention project, and this semester’s class decided to focus on information available on the ISU online directory.

As of now, the directory is just like a telephone book. It contains information about every ISU student and faculty member. This includes: full name, phone number, e-mail address, home address, major and classification.

The only difference between a phone book and the directory is the easy access online.

“We understand that the directory is a very useful tool when it comes to finding a person’s e-mail or basic contact information, but we feel that the directory has some information, such as a student’s address, that some people may not be comfortable with being public,” said Emily Hansen, a sophomore enrolled in Honors 322.

Students may not know any unwanted information can be removed by filling out a form at the Office of the Registrar.

“The intervention project would like to focus on making students more aware of what options they have available, and we would like to make the process for students easier,” said Bianca Contreras, sophomore in world languages and cultures involved in the honors program.

The ideal Dare to be Aware outcome of this project would be the option for students to choose what information the directory could release and make public and the ability for students to make adjustments on Access Plus, Contreras said.

Denis Timberland, administrative specialist for records and registration, has already taken the honors program proposal into consideration by adding a “How To” tab on the side of the ISU online directory. This link provides a tutorial on how to go about suppressing and removing unwanted information.

“We are trying to figure out a way to best serve the entire campus population by allowing students to make the decision on what information they want restricted,” Timberland said.

The changes regarding the ISU online directory will not be made immediately, but the Office of the Registrar and the students involved in the intervention project are working together to find common ground on the issue.