Seattle University Spectator

Issue: 7/14/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Joshua Lynch While many people know Facebook is public, they still post illicit behavior or personal details for anyone to see. A Seattle U administrator saw Facebook invites in May for two parties and shut them down.

For many college students, the creation of a Facebook profile is part and parcel with their acceptance into a university. Facebook al­lows students to communicate and correspond with each other via the internet. It allows people to communicate with each other when they can't be in close physical proximity. Essentially, Facebook allows for the pseudo-functional management of a student's social life from the comfort of their residence, a way of meta-managing one's personal affairs in a manner that is both personal and convenient.

However, many college students often fail to realize that Facebook is a public forum, and almost all the information exchanged on the Web site can be perused and read by anyone.

"Yeah, Facebook is a great way to communicate with friends," said Kristina Capulong, sophomore international business and Asian studies major and a resident as­sistant in Bellarmine. "But people need to understand that everyone can see what you do on it. Basically, what you say on the Web site affects every facet of your academic, em­ployment and social lives, and you need to take responsibility for the information you post online."

Looking at the Facebook group "Seattle University Class of 2012!," any online passerby can gather loads of information on the illicit activities of the incoming freshman class.

The thread "Do you party or not" reads as especially incriminat­ing, since it finds several freshmen candidly admitting their illicit substance use on a public forum. And while there is no law prohibiting the discussion of illegal activities provided one is not caught in the act, such forums can poten­tially lead to the profil­ing of students from the campus community.

"If you're posting on your friends' walls about how you're dropping acid and drinking every night," Capulong said, "then you're just asking to make yourself a target for the administration and the RAs on campus."

Continued...

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