ACS National Convention 2007 - Day 1

ACS National Convention 2007: Toward a Just Future

The 5th Annual ACS Convention kicked off with a student leadership retreat on July 26. Two career-oriented panels, one on clerkships and one on careers on Capitol Hill, brought in an amazing array of panelists. The judges all made great comments on the clerkship application process, and the Hill staffers made me wish I wanted to work on the Hill myself (maybe someday...).

The student-led breakout panels followed, with our very own Dana Green leading the Privacy session. With so much current discussion of governmental violations of privacy, it was jarring to realize how few protections are in place against private employer surveillance. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1968 (18 U.S.C. §§ 2510-2521) is the only federal statute addressing worker communication privacy, and its terms are so narrowly interpreted that it offers almost no protection at all.

The retreat wrapped up with a small networking fair and an organizing best practices discussion for student chapter leaders. Finally, the evening wound down with the official opening reception of the convention.