TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: When Students Open up - a Little Too Much; Colleges Cite Risks

When Students Open up - a Little Too Much; Colleges Cite Risks

Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)
Wed, 28 Sep 2005 01:07:41 -0400

By Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff

Last school year, Brandeis University junior Emily Aronoff tapped
this sentiment into a computer: "I enjoy the festive greens."

The reference to marijuana became part of her profile on facebook.com,
the online student catalogue that allows Aronoff and tens of thousands
of collegians to share photos and idiosyncratic odds and ends of their
lives, intended for viewing by other students.

But others were reading as well -- including "an individual in the
community," she said, who shared the reference with her parents in
Marietta, Ga. Eventually, word reached her grandmother.

"My bubbe," she said, using the Yiddish word for grandmother, "told
me her seniors home was abuzz with the news, and I was like: 'I hate
the Facebook.' "

As the Facebook has become a phenomenon at schools across the country
-- a virtual bible for campus socializing and networking -- the
unintended consequences of overly comprehensive, brutally frank, or
mischievous entries are surfacing.

Colleges and universities are increasingly taking steps to help
students avoid pitfalls -- most critically, those that put students at
risk for stalking and harassment. At Tufts University this year,
freshmen-orientation leaders encouraged students to omit detailed
personal information from their profiles, such as dormitory room
numbers and class schedules. Boston College plans to do the same next
year, and Boston University has instructed residential advisers on
offering guidance on Facebook matters.

Meanwhile, Brandeis held an hour-long seminar last week on Facebook
savvy -- recommending safety tips, but also telling students to
consider future employers, professors, or family members who might
read Facebook entries. Indeed, some Brandeis administrators said at
the meeting -- to open-mouthed reactions of students attending --
that they have begun reading Facebook entries before hiring a student
for campus positions.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/09/26/when_students_open_up____a_little_too_much/

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