(BISMARCK, ND) – State Representatives Kylie Oversen (District 42, Grand Forks) and Joshua Boschee (District 44, Fargo) released the following statement today:

“During the past few days we have heard from a number of our constituents who attend either UND or NDSU who are upset to learn that their personal student information has been shared with Odney Advertising. We share their concerns.

“We believe that it is wrong for the private information of college students to be shared for any political or commercial purpose. Students have an expectation that their private information is confidential. We are considering proposing legislation in the 2015 legislative session that will limit the sharing of this information, while also creating a consistent set of rules for all state colleges and universities.

“Odney Advertising’s admission that they intend to use this information on behalf of their political clients raises serious questions. State issued student email addresses are currently covered under open records laws, meaning the state considers them to be state property. In order to comply with Odney Advertising’s request, state employees at each of our colleges and universities are pulling lists for Odney Advertising. This essentially means state employees are doing political work on behalf of Odney Advertising and their political clients, which includes the North Dakota Republican Party and other interest groups. This raises the likelihood that the Corrupt Practices Act could be violated.

“If Odney Advertising uses these state issued student email addresses for political purposes, then they are in clear violation of the Corrupt Practices Act and we intend to follow up with law enforcement on behalf of North Dakota’s college students.”

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From:: Dem-NPL News