Commission denies student's appeal

Sophomore Ben Brodsky, who signed into the University emergency alert Web site and changed its message earlier this semester, was denied an appeal in a session before the University Hearing Commission Tuesday. Brodsky's punishment was increased to a 7 to 10 page report on a book of ethics in addition to the one-year probation the Judicial Board handed down March 1. \nThe appeal came after the Judicial Board found Brodsky guilty of both "disorderly conduct which interferes with teaching, research, administration, or other University or University-authorized activity," and "published University regulations, policies, or rules" in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct.\nAfter a two-hour proceeding, the three-person commission unanimously found Brodsky in violation of both sections of the Student Code. While Brodsky said he was treated fairly in the hearing, he said he does not find any fault in his actions and did nothing more than expose a flaw in the Web site's security system by logging on and changing its text.\n"(Chief of Information Technology Security) Mark Bruhn and (Assistant Director of Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Programs) Gerald Olson are out-of-touch with reality," Brodsky said after the hearing. "I think there was nothing that I did that was wrong. I didn't break any rules, and it's not my fault they had an error in the system. I think they're using me as a scapegoat to cover up their problems in security."\nBrodsky originally accessed the IU Emergency Web site Jan. 26 and posted a false weather advisory that stated: "Call up your Congressman and suggest the educational process at Indiana University be suspended on Monday."\nBut Bruhn said there was indeed a flaw in the Web site and the University is still working to strengthen its security system. \n"There is no question that the Web site was configured incorrectly," Bruhn said during the proceedings. "No one but the administration should get in, and we're still making tweaks to the system to secure it."\nUniversity Hearing Commission member Marty Siegel said Brodsky's fault was not simply in logging onto the Web site but making the changes.\n"(University Information Technology Services) did not try to hide the fact that there was a problem with the Web site," Siegel said. "The unethical behavior is that (Brodsky) went ahead and exploited that mistake."\nBrodsky argued that neither the students nor the faculty missed classes or changed their actions as a result of his posting the false weather alert.\n"There was no malicious intent," Brodsky said. "I have yet to see any evidence that anyone was disturbed by my actions."\nUniversity Hearing Commission member Elizabeth Boling said the issue did not lie in the number of people affected by Brodsky's actions but in the unauthorized revision of the Web site. \n"While it didn't cause the biggest problem, it did impact the University," Boling said. "Even if it did not affect anyone, we thought (the change) was unethical."\nBrodsky said he intends to appeal the decision again. \n-- Contact senior writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.