Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
FOI #25-194 (04-28-25, 2:26 pm) - Subject - Changes in guaranteed housing agreement for undergraduate UConn students at the Storrs Campus
Name - Student Student
Affiliation -
I am requesting any email correspondence between UConn administration about the decision to prioritize housing for incoming freshman and no longer guarantee housing for upperclassmen during the 2025-26 academic year on the Storrs campus.
FOI #25-191 (04-28-25, 5:28 am) - Subject - Child Abuse Prevention Month Following the Prohibition of Corporal Punishment in Illinois Private Schools : House Bill 4175
Name - Michael Ayele (a.k.a) W
Affiliation - Michael A. Ayele (a.k.a) W ORCID.: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5780-6457
What I am requesting for prompt disclosure are records in your possession detailing your conversations about [1] the decision of the Illinois General Assembly to recognize that (i) “pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees;” (ii) “access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest;” (iii) “it is the public policy of the State of Illinois that access by all persons to public records promotes the transparency and accountability of public bodies at all levels of government;” [2] the State of Illinois having (i) amended the school code through House Bill 4175 to provide that a nonpublic school “may not engage in slapping or paddling a student, the prolonged maintenance of a student in a physically painful position, or the intentional infliction of bodily harm on a student;” (ii) become in Calendar Year 2025 the fifth (5th) state in America to prohibit the corporal punishment of children in private and public schools; [3] the formal and/or informal opinion of your local/state government on the subject of corporal punishment in American schools; [4] the August 21st 2023 findings of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which concluded that (i) “almost 70 000 (seventy thousand) students are struck at least once by school personnel during the school year;” (ii) “among US schools that use corporal punishment, racial, gender and ability disparities exist;” (iii) “Black boys are nearly twice as likely to be struck as white boys” (14% vs 7.5%); (iv) “Black girls are more than 3 times as likely to be struck as white girls;” (5.2% vs 1.7%); (v) “national data show that among students who received physical punishment at school, 16.5% were served under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA);” [5] the April 04th 1983 decision of President Ronald Reagan (i) to recognize that “children may be endangered by physical battering, denial of the basic necessities for life and health, sexual abuse and exploitation, or emotional cruelty;” (ii) to recognize that “public concern can help prevent maltreatment and help protect children;” (iii) to recognize that “action taken after cruelty has occurred is often too late;” (iv) to recognize that “prevention of abuse requires that neighborhoods and communities be attentive to the problems of families in their midst and be willing to help when help is needed;” (v) to proclaim the month of April 1983 as “National Child Abuse Prevention Month...”
Greetings,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am writing in reference to a recent public records/FOIA request for which I received the requested documents—thank you for your timely response. Upon reviewing the files, I noticed that the FY 2021 MFRS/NCAA Financial Report was provided in a format that is not machine-readable. Specifically, the content appears to be scanned as an image, which prevents text selection and inhibits my ability to extract data programmatically.
Would it be possible for your office to provide an alternative version of the report in a machine-readable format (i.e., with selectable, searchable text)? Having access to a text-readable version would greatly facilitate my analysis.
I appreciate your attention to this matter and would be grateful for any assistance you can provide.
Sincerely,
FOI #25-189 - Subject - SmartProcure Public Records Request to University of Connecticut for Contact Information
Name - Karen Garcia
Affiliation -
SmartProcure is submitting a public records request to the University of Connecticut for all current employee/staff contact information. The request is limited to readily available records without physically copying, scanning, or printing paper documents. Any editable electronic document is acceptable.
The specific information requested from your record-keeping system is:
1. First Name
2. Last Name
3. Position Title
4. Department
5. Direct Phone Number (if does not exist, list main phone number with extension) 6. Business Cell Phone (if provided by University of Connecticut) 7. Email Address 8. Office Address (Address, City, State, Zip)
FOI #25-188 (04-25-25, 1:26 am) - Subject - emails
Name - Student Student
Affiliation -
I am writing to request all emails between radenka.maric@uconn.edu and hans.rhynhart@uconn.edu with the terms "FBI" and "Federal Bureau of Investigation" from Oct. 7, 2023 to Jan. 1, 2024.
FOI #25-186 (04-24-25, 4:34 pm) - Subject - ADL emails
Name - Student Student
Affiliation -
I would like a copy of all emails with the terms "ADL" or "Anti-Defamation League" or "Anti Defamation League" or "David Waren" sent to or from "radenka.maric@uconn.edu" "nicole.gelston@uconn.edu" "hans.rhynhart@uconn.edu" "gene.labonte@uconn.edu" sent from Oct. 7, 2023 to the present.
FOI #25-185 - Subject - FOIA Request: Vendor Contracts
Name - Justin Wenig
Affiliation -
I am writing to request access to and copies of records under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act.
I am requesting materials possessed by University Of Connecticut for all of the vendors with which you have a relationship in each of the following categories of products:
• Learning Management System (LMS): Instructure (Canvas), Blackboard (Blackboard by Anthology), D2L Brightspace, Moodle, and/or OpenLMS
• Student Information System (SIS): Ellucian (Banner, Colleague, Powercampus), Oracle PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, Anthology Student, Workday, Jenzabar, and/or Unit4
• CRM: Technoluttions (Slate), Salesforce, Ellucian Recruit, Anthology Reach, TargetX, Liaison, and/or Element451
I am looking for all contracts (and/or master service agreements with all associated purchase orders) that are still in effect or have been in effect in the past 3 years.