Big Brother is turning his ever-watchful eye to college students; or at least, such is the federal government's new plan to collect information on and track the progress of American college students.

The Department of Education has floated the idea of creating a national database of college students. The database would store certain information about each student, including their name, address, birth date, gender, race and Social Security number, along with a history of their college enrollment, financial aid, and tuition payments.

The idea has gained the support of Republicans in Congress, who see it as a way to measure progress in higher education.

For such an idea to become a federal program, it would require changes to existing privacy laws. Currently, release of student records requires the approval of the student or, if under 18, their parents.

The Department of Education has downplayed the privacy aspect, claiming that the information would be safe and would not be shared with anyone else. This claim is somewhat dubious, however, given the government's attempts in the recent past to combine data from companies and federal agencies into a single database for 'security' purposes.

Going to college should not mean that a person should have to let the government track them. Given that there exist privacy laws to protect the records of students, it should be apparent that there previously existed an interest in keeping such things private. There has not been any significant event or change in thinking that would require the availability of such information.

It is likely that Congress will begin to consider the proposal next year. I strongly urge every Stevens student to write to your representatives in Congress and telling them that as a college student, you value your privacy and will not stand for forced release of your student records.