Oklahoma State Confidentiality Agreement Criticized

Friday, July 21st 2006, 6:21 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- Critics of a confidentiality agreement that some students, faculty and staff at Oklahoma State University were ordered to sign say it appears to violate First Amendment rights.

OSU officials say the agreement is no longer required and will be rewritten to respond to critics. The agreement was drafted after a laptop computer containing student information was stolen last year.

OSU spokesman Gary Shutt said administrators started asking employees to sign the agreement in February. Shutt said administrators agreed to rewrite it after complaints started pouring in from faculty and staff.

But students working for The Daily O'Collegian, the university's student newspaper, were told Thursday they wouldn't be paid if they didn't agree to sign.