A Different Kind of Derby Girl: Midterm Project

Katie Hoff, or Hoff the Chain as she is called in the derby world, is team captain of the South Central Derby Girls of Davis and Ada, Oklahoma and the mother goose of her team. Organizing bouts, looking out for teammates and making it all flow are second-hand to her. However, she is not your typical mom. Bruises are her trophies, and she practices giving and taking hits. Teammate and close friend Pamela Chapman whose derby alias is Lolo Beach can testify to this. Every Sunday, the team practices at the Arbuckle Ballroom in Davis, Oklahoma. They graciously allowed me to watch them at work.


VIDEO: Catherine Combes, Runtime 1:39

Full Circle SOP Slide Show

VIDEO: Catherine Combes, Runtime 1:11

Full Circle Bookstore, one of my favorite places, is an independent bookstore in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This slide show takes viewers through the store through images and audio.

Internet Privacy Becoming Issue of Foreign Policy

Chris Soghoian urged companies to stop storing private data. He spoke Tuesday morning about the dangers of government surveillance through corporations and social media companies. The event was part of a symposium held at the University of Oklahoma titled “The Future of Privacy in a Socially Networked World”.

Soghoian works in Washington, D.C. to educate policy makers.
PHOTO: Matt Dyer

Soghoian, Principal Technologist and Senior Policy Analyst with the Speech, Privacy and Technology Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, explained that the United States government legally requires companies to hand over any requested personal information that clients entrust to them in an effort to monitor criminal activity.

“Something that, 20 years ago, would have required an FBI agent to go out into the field to discover, can now be done from the comfort of [an agent’s] desk,” said Soghoian.

Soghoian claims the current Internet privacy policy is wrong because citizens have no option except to present their information to companies who have to release it to the government.

Specifically of Facebook, Soghoian says, “Their business model is to screw you, and then apologize later. You don’t have a choice. It’s Facebook or the highway. And that means not knowing what’s going on.

The issue is not just an infringement upon personal privacy. Soghoian pointed to China’s recent hacking of major U.S. companies as well as the 2005 Athen’s Affair where an outside force hacked the phones of several high-ranking Greek officials including the prime minister.

There was limited seating in the Gaylord Auditorium Tuesday.
PHOTO: Matt Dyer

According to socialbakers.com, over 163 million U.S. citizens have a Facebook profile. Alex Dean, a junior broadcasting major at OU, is one of them.

“I had just never thought about how our lack of privacy transcends borders,” says Dean. “Online, we really are all one nation.”

Soghoian pointed out near the end of Tuesday’s event that Internet privacy will become more question of foreign policy and less of civil liberties in the future. More information about Soghoian’s work can be found at www.aclu.org/protecting-civil-liberties-digital-age.