2008 Woodie Awards
Comments on gossip Web site could have negative impact on students
Sarah Kloepping
Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: News
Since JuicyCampus.com was created in October, students across the nation have openly expressed their opinions about the negative impact of the Web site.
But JuicyCampus founder Matt Ivester said students should take it for what it is - gossip.
While the terms and conditions of posting comments on the Web site require the authors to refrain from making libelous comments, JuicyCampus also guarantees anonymity and does not monitor what is written.
Kaitlin Larimer said she first heard about being listed on the Web site from her roommate.
"I wondered why, out of all the students at Whitewater, I was on there," Larimer said. "My life really isn't that juicy. I'm a strong person, but it still affected me a bit."
Ivester said in an interview last week that he created JuicyCampus as a way for students to share stories about their groups of friends.
Assistant Dean of Student Life Mary Beth Mackin said unlike Facebook, JuicyCampus has no social networking benefit.
"I've not seen anything useful on JuicyCampus," Mackin said. "[Unless] you find it useful to know how many fraternity men have slept with sorority women or who's considered the hottest faculty member. It's just mean-spirited, hateful, vicious gossip, and I would like to think that college students are beyond that."
Larimer said although the comments posted on the site have not changed her friends perception of her, she is concerned about applying for a job and having someone search her name and base his or her opinions on the JuicyCampus posts.
"Even though I would hope that I wouldn't be turned down for such comments, it truly could be damaging to their first impression of me." Larimer said. " I know that would be an extreme case, but without restrictions on who visits the site, how could I be sure who sees it?"
Mackin said employers can legally search Google for the name of a job applicant to find more information about the person.
"I guarantee when you apply for a job, those decisions are not being made solely what's based on the piece of paper that's your resume," she said. "That's why we tell people to be careful what they post online."
According to a survey from CareerBuilder.com, one in four hiring managers have used search engines to screen candidates. A survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute said about half of U.S. hiring officials use the Internet to help select job applications.
Mackin said although not everything will show up on search engines like Google, being wise about what is showing up online will help many situations. People can also set up a Google alert.
"If you go into Google, you can set it so whenever your name pops up somewhere in cyber space, it will alert you." Mackin said. "It doesn't take it away necessarily, but you can think ahead about how you might talk with an employer about those kinds of things."
But JuicyCampus founder Matt Ivester said students should take it for what it is - gossip.
While the terms and conditions of posting comments on the Web site require the authors to refrain from making libelous comments, JuicyCampus also guarantees anonymity and does not monitor what is written.
Kaitlin Larimer said she first heard about being listed on the Web site from her roommate.
"I wondered why, out of all the students at Whitewater, I was on there," Larimer said. "My life really isn't that juicy. I'm a strong person, but it still affected me a bit."
Ivester said in an interview last week that he created JuicyCampus as a way for students to share stories about their groups of friends.
Assistant Dean of Student Life Mary Beth Mackin said unlike Facebook, JuicyCampus has no social networking benefit.
"I've not seen anything useful on JuicyCampus," Mackin said. "[Unless] you find it useful to know how many fraternity men have slept with sorority women or who's considered the hottest faculty member. It's just mean-spirited, hateful, vicious gossip, and I would like to think that college students are beyond that."
Larimer said although the comments posted on the site have not changed her friends perception of her, she is concerned about applying for a job and having someone search her name and base his or her opinions on the JuicyCampus posts.
"Even though I would hope that I wouldn't be turned down for such comments, it truly could be damaging to their first impression of me." Larimer said. " I know that would be an extreme case, but without restrictions on who visits the site, how could I be sure who sees it?"
Mackin said employers can legally search Google for the name of a job applicant to find more information about the person.
"I guarantee when you apply for a job, those decisions are not being made solely what's based on the piece of paper that's your resume," she said. "That's why we tell people to be careful what they post online."
According to a survey from CareerBuilder.com, one in four hiring managers have used search engines to screen candidates. A survey conducted by the Ponemon Institute said about half of U.S. hiring officials use the Internet to help select job applications.
Mackin said although not everything will show up on search engines like Google, being wise about what is showing up online will help many situations. People can also set up a Google alert.
"If you go into Google, you can set it so whenever your name pops up somewhere in cyber space, it will alert you." Mackin said. "It doesn't take it away necessarily, but you can think ahead about how you might talk with an employer about those kinds of things."
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