How much freedom should an educational institution give its students to use cyberspace? Should the institution have a say in what students, not to mention faculty and staff, post on the World Wide Web? If a student uses university e-mail to harass or defame someone, is the university legally liable? When everyone is connected to everyone else, how do you protect an individual’s privacy?

All too often computer-use policies are developed in response to crises resulting from the misuse of computer and networking resources. To help educators prepare in advance to deal with such issues, Cornell University will host a conference on “Computer Policy and Law” August 6-8 in Statler Hall on the Cornell campus. Participants will examine the legal implications of extensive campus networking and explore frameworks for limiting personal and institutional exposure to liability, while at the same time preserving free speech and academic freedom. The conference is intended for technology administrators, legal counsel, judicial administrators, public relations directors, risk managers, auditors and affirmative action officers at colleges and universities.

The conference will begin with demonstrations of the communications technologies available at a “wired” institution like Cornell, then will explore the issues these technologies raise in areas of copyright protection, personal privacy and the legal liability of the institution as a service provider. A concluding session will discuss ways to develop workable computer-use policies. Presenters will include administrators and technology specialists from Cornell, The University of Chicago and Ohio State University, along with attorneys specializing in these issues.

Cornell University is an acknowledged leader in putting information resources in the hands of faculty, staff and students.&nb CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources at colleges and universities, has recognized Cornell’s leadership role with the 1995 CAUSE Award for Excellence in Campus Networking. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates recently told two major news magazines that he recognized the magnitude of the “Internet Tidal Wave” when in 1993 he learned that everyone on the Cornell campus, not just the computer people, were networked for everyday electronic communications.