AT A computer resource session during last summer's orientation, one parent shyly raised her hand to ask about the national college craze commonly known as The Facebook. The speaker quickly dismissed her question, appearing to be ignorant of, or at least naïve about, the phenomenon. Many students in the audience snickered dismissively at the parent's question.But was her question so inappropriate?
The Facebook has become such a widespread part of the college experience that the University should have an explicit policy on it. Facebook, at least for the time, seems like it is here to stay. As such, the University should be doing more to make Facebook a University issue. University administrators need to underscore the type and extent of punishments for misuse of Facebook and spell out the extent to which Facebook can be used for administrative and investigative purposes.
On the one hand, Facebook is not compulsory. Some might say that because it is completely voluntary, Facebook does not constitute an issue for the University. But that logic does not follow when the University spends countless dollars and expends much effort formulating real policy on other voluntary activities that students engage in, such as alcohol education.
Others might say that Facebook exists in a completely different realm, that concrete behaviors like drinking are different. Still, policies are formulated for voluntary activities that are less concrete than drinking. For example, when a student signs up for an e-mail account through the University, the student must complete an extensive test, proving that he has read the manual and reviewed the University's official policy. Currently when a student misuses Facebook, there is no policy or course of action.As online community -- involving thousands of University students, the University needs to formulate real rules, implement real policy, and identify real consequences.
Despite its pervasiveness there is no mention of the facebook on the University's Responsible Computing Web site, no official mention of it at orientation in years past and no concrete, written, formulated or codified University policy pertaining to the facebook.
There are real initiatives and policies already to be found at other universities. At Purdue University, for example, the office of the dean of students offered training to campus police officers for the facebook. According to Purdue's newspaper, The Exponent, the officers are not asked to actively peruse the website looking for underage drinking or criminal activity but, rather, as a tool in investigations. Some cases have come to light where the facebook was involved, including instances of online harassment. In such cases, it becomes important for officers to know how to use Facebook as a tool.
Students at Princeton have recently decried public safety officers using the facebook to investigate cases. The concern, primarily, rests in the balance between privacy of students and the law, according to the campus newspaper, The Daily Princetonian. Facebook is in the public domain, accessible to anyone with a university e-mail address. Posting pictures of or writing about criminal activity is not, and should not be, protected by the University. It is necessary that the University create policies along these lines.
Other universities have gone even further. According to an article published in University Business, Facebook has been used to expel a student at Fisher College in Boston for defaming a college officer. As reported in the Boston Globe Fisher College spokesman John McLaughlin said, "[Using Facebook] Cameron Walker was found to be in violation of the Student Guide and Code of Conduct." Additionally, this year the University of New Mexico took real action when it banned Facebook from all its servers until it can be sure of the site's security. These policies may not be useful or appropriate for the University relative to our circumstances, but the fact that other universities are taking notice of the facebook indicates their real interest in protecting students in this online forum.The University should move in this direction for the protection, privacy and safety of the student body.
To be fair, the Facebook phenomenon has not gone wholly unnoticed by University staff. Earlier this fall, Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Lampkin sent out a University-wide e-mail cautioning students about Facebook. Also, according to Carol Wood, Assistant vice president for university relations, "A lot of work will be done at orientation this year to address the facebook for students and parents." She went on to say, "Currently, we're in the education mode, not the policy mode."
That's just it though; most efforts put forth by the University's administration have been purely educational in nature. For something that is so pervasive, so entwined with University life, administrators should take the initiative to formulate concrete, accessible and consequential policy concerning misuse of the facebook. Only then can students browse the facebook with the confidence that their privacy is protected and their actions are in line with the University's standards.
Christa Byker is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.
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