Spring Break
The Daily OrangeFacebook posts cause some colleges to monitor site
SU refrains from screening student accounts
By Ryan Balton
Posted: 4/23/08, 11:38 PM EST Section: News
"With that kind of knowledge, the university then has I believe, in some instances, a duty to act," Badawy said.
SU Information Technology and Services does not monitor traffic on Facebook on the SU network, said Paul Gandel, vice president for ITS. He also said ITS has never worked with SU in any investigation of a Facebook incident - generally, the complaints are available publicly where anyone with a computer can access them.
"People have to realize that what they say and do in today's electronic medium can be distributed widely," Gandel said. "So people just need to be careful of what they do and they say in any kind of public forum and understand the whole world may see what they do."
In extreme cases, students who aren't careful enough can end up having run-ins with university officials - or even the police.
A student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina who wasn't looking forward to returning to school from Spring Break last month changed his Facebook status to "Lucas Caparelli recommends not going to class on Wednesday because he is going to blow up campus. For those left standing he will have an uzi locked and loaded in his bag."
When Caparelli arrived back in North Carolina, he stepped off a plane and into a police car, according to The Washington Post. Wake Forest suspended him for the rest of the semester.
Though Caparelli claimed his threat was only a joke, it went a long way in a country still shaken by last year's Virginia Tech shooting.
Other instances of Facebook abuse are less serious. Browsing through the list of Facebook profiles in the SU network, which contains more than 28,200 users, it's easy to spot photos of students drinking, holding or near bottles or plastic red cups containing alcoholic beverages.
"You wouldn't leave the doors of your apartment open and invite the world to come in," Gandel said. "Likewise, I think you do need to exercise the same caution when using other mediums like Facebook."
Continuing to emphasize that SU does not actively seek problems with students' Facebook accounts, Badawy said it's still unwise to post potentially harmful content on Facebook. It could be seen not only by university faculty, but also by potential employers.
"If you want to be seen as an upstanding, professional member of the community it might not be a good idea to post pictures of yourself doing a keg stand," Badawy said.
"I think in today's world, where everyone has access to a computer, and everyone can see what's going on online - whether it's your professor or whether it's your employers - I do think students should be responsible with what they post online," Badawy said.
rsbalton@syr.edu
SU Information Technology and Services does not monitor traffic on Facebook on the SU network, said Paul Gandel, vice president for ITS. He also said ITS has never worked with SU in any investigation of a Facebook incident - generally, the complaints are available publicly where anyone with a computer can access them.
"People have to realize that what they say and do in today's electronic medium can be distributed widely," Gandel said. "So people just need to be careful of what they do and they say in any kind of public forum and understand the whole world may see what they do."
In extreme cases, students who aren't careful enough can end up having run-ins with university officials - or even the police.
A student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina who wasn't looking forward to returning to school from Spring Break last month changed his Facebook status to "Lucas Caparelli recommends not going to class on Wednesday because he is going to blow up campus. For those left standing he will have an uzi locked and loaded in his bag."
When Caparelli arrived back in North Carolina, he stepped off a plane and into a police car, according to The Washington Post. Wake Forest suspended him for the rest of the semester.
Though Caparelli claimed his threat was only a joke, it went a long way in a country still shaken by last year's Virginia Tech shooting.
Other instances of Facebook abuse are less serious. Browsing through the list of Facebook profiles in the SU network, which contains more than 28,200 users, it's easy to spot photos of students drinking, holding or near bottles or plastic red cups containing alcoholic beverages.
"You wouldn't leave the doors of your apartment open and invite the world to come in," Gandel said. "Likewise, I think you do need to exercise the same caution when using other mediums like Facebook."
Continuing to emphasize that SU does not actively seek problems with students' Facebook accounts, Badawy said it's still unwise to post potentially harmful content on Facebook. It could be seen not only by university faculty, but also by potential employers.
"If you want to be seen as an upstanding, professional member of the community it might not be a good idea to post pictures of yourself doing a keg stand," Badawy said.
"I think in today's world, where everyone has access to a computer, and everyone can see what's going on online - whether it's your professor or whether it's your employers - I do think students should be responsible with what they post online," Badawy said.
rsbalton@syr.edu
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