Administrators advocate healthy Internet use
By Anna Walters News Editor
Don't worry. Big brother is not watching you on Facebook or MySpace.
According to Natalie Shank, judicial coordinator for the Office of Residence Life, the university has no hard and fast rules when it comes to social networking sites.
"There's nothing written down," she said. "(Facebook) may be covered under some of the IS policies." Shank also said that she does not go looking for incriminating information on student profiles.
"If that's what I spent my time doing, I wouldn't have time to do the rest of my job," she said, adding that if a student complained about an incident involving Facebook or another site, "I would take that and look at it as I would any information that was given to me."
Different departments and individuals adopt their own guidelines for using Facebook and other sites in a professional context. Most use the sites only to check out potential employees and for social reasons.
Jeromy Koffler, director of Student Activities, said he created a Facebook account in late 2005. He has 157 friends - colleagues, students, alumni and current students, including those involved in student government.
After the creators of Facebook made the service available to all college campuses, Koffler encouraged UP officials and professors to join Facebook and other social networking sites.
"Early on in the process, a lot of faculty and administrators were nervous about being involved," he said, adding that some were concerned they would be obligated to act if they found evidence of illegal or inappropriate student activity.
But Koffler, who once gave presentations to UP faculty and staff about social networking sites, is convinced of the sites' utility.
"If we are truthful to our mission and if we believe that building positive relationships is at the core of what we do, then we should be role models in using the net so students see how to use it in a healthy way," he said.
Koffler uses Facebook to contact students involved in ASUP, advertise for upcoming Student Activities events, celebrate birthdays and post messages of appreciation. He also uses Facebook in a professional context, screening potential orientation coordinators and orientation assistants.
"We ask orientation candidates to allow us to see their profiles because we are asking them to essentially be role models for the students," Koffler said.
Shank, who is chair of the staff selection committee that determines hall directors, assistant hall directors and RAs, doesn't factor Facebook into the hiring process.
"I never look at candidates' (online profiles). It's not even taken into consideration," she said. Instead she relies on phone calls to references and interviews.
The Rev. John Donato, C.S.C., associate vice president for student life, also values interviews over a student's online presence.
"We still rely heavily on face-to-face interviews. For any position that's important, you want to bring them in and see how they interview," he said.
Donato's role as adviser of the Gay Straight Partnership, a recently approved club on campus, was the impetus for his Facebook membership. He also recently found his niece on the site.
Some students are unconcerned about the their representation on their online profiles.
"You can set your privacy settings," junior Kaitlynn Darmon said. Only friends and networks are allowed access to her Facebook profile.
"Even if I did have it (set) so everyone could see it, I wouldn't post controversial photos," she said.
And yet, others, like senior Julie Franks, have found other ways to prevent employers from scouring online profiles.
"I use a fake name. I usually use Frankie Frank Franks on my profiles," she said. "If anyone were to Google my name it wouldn't come up." Franks also goes by the alias "Not TV's Frank" on MySpace. She uses the pseudonyms "partially because I'm bored and partially because my dad raised me to be paranoid."
Other students opt to keep their online profiles generally clean.
"I make sure there's is nothing that will make me look bad," senior Alyssa Oshiro said. Oshiro is currently seeking an accounting internship.
"I un-tag myself from certain pictures, not so much because I think an employer will see them, but because I don't want them on there."
