In defending the importance of student privacy on Harvard's computer network, the staff has chosen to take on the wrong person.
It is the University's administration, not HASCS Director Franklin L. Steen, that should have set the University's computer policy. Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles, Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57, or at least the faculty's Standing Committee on Information Technology should create and adhere to a system of rules governing computer privacy issues.
As Executive Director of HASCS, Steen's job is to make sure Harvard's computer systems are running and able to support the needs of Harvard's 10,000 users. Compared to his predecessor, Steen has done an admirable job of keeping the system running quickly, especially considering that HASCS is underfunded and understaffed.
That Steen acted slowly on the issue of the log file is not reason to condemn him. This issue, quite simply, did not bother computer users until The Crimson confronted those who downloaded pornographic images.
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