Hasty postings on Facebook have come back to bite college students around the world, raising the question of how Syracuse University uses the social-networking Web site to conduct judicial affairs.

Violations making the news at other universities in recent months have ranged from academic dishonesty, to threats of violence and underage drinking.

In one case, freshman Chris Avenir at Toronto’s Ryerson University, was suspended for creating a Facebook study group in which he and 146 classmates shared tips for chemistry homework questions last fall, according to The Toronto Star. Avenir’s professor found the group during their Winter Break.

Last month, 15 members of the track team at Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, Pa., were suspended from a meet after posting photos on Facebook of a drinking party they had while on a trip with the team during Spring Break, according to Slippery Rock’s student newspaper, The Rocket.

Rami Badawy, director of the Office of Juddicial Affairs at SU, said there isn’t the manpower at SU to monitor students on Facebook, and the university simply doesn’t think it’s ‘right.’ Facebook only plays a role when a student or someone from the Office of Residence Life or Department of Public Safety brings it to the university’s attention, he said.

‘I hear all the time students are concerned with and students believe the university actively monitors Facebook, and I want to make it clear that is not something the university does,’ Badawy said. ‘The only time the university becomes even aware of what’s posted on Facebook is if it’s brought to our attention in the form of a complaint or another party.’

Cases at SU involving Facebook are usually related to harassment, relationship violence and threats, Badawy said.

SU doesn’t have the duty to take disciplinary action against students for what they have posted on their accounts but to be proactive in its approach, Badawy said.

When the university became aware of Mayfest party plans posted on Facebook Friday, the Division of Student Affairs distributed literature to remind students to be aware of the local laws and to make sure they are careful and safe, he said.

‘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

Published on April 23, 2008 at 12:00 pm