WikiLeaks Follow-Up: Columbia University to Students "You Can Discuss the Documents"

On 4 December, we posted an article revealing that a State Department employee had warned the Careers Office at the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University that any student who linked to a WikiLeaks document would risk losing the chance of a job with the US Government, as this would "call into question [the] ability to deal with confidential information".

As SIPA is one of the premier institutions for those aspiring to work with the State Department, this was more than a passing comment.

We learned last week of the sequel to the story. The Dean of SIPA, John Coatsworth, sent this e-mail to all students in the School:

Dear SIPA Community,

Last Tuesday, SIPA’s Office of Career Services received a call from a former student currently employed by the U.S. Department of State who pointed out that the U.S. government documents released during the past few months through WikiLeaks are still considered classified.  The caller suggested that students who will be applying for federal jobs that require background checks avoid posting links to these documents or making comments about them on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter.

OCS emailed this cautionary suggestion to students, as it has done many times with other information that could be helpful in seeking employment after graduation. We know that many students today share a great deal about their lives online and that employers may use that information when evaluating their candidacy.  Subsequent news stories have indicated that the Department of State has issued guidelines for its own employees, but has not issued any guidelines for prospective employees.

Freedom of information and expression is a core value of our institution. Thus, SIPA’s position is that students have a right to discuss and debate any information in the public arena that they deem relevant to their studies or to their roles as global citizens, and to do so without fear of adverse consequences.  The WikiLeaks documents are accessible to SIPA students (and everyone else) from a wide variety of respected sources, as are multiple means of discussion and debate both in and outside of the classroom.

Should the U.S. Department of State issue any guidelines relating to the WikiLeaks documents for prospective employees, SIPA will make them available immediately.

Sincerely,
John H. Coatsworth
Dean

 call into question your ability to deal with confidential information