Wallace

Students urged to be respectful on gossip site

by ANNE BAKER
News Editor

JuicyCampus.com, the Web site where students can post the latest college gossip, has continued to gain popularity among Appalachian State University students.

Students began posting on JuicyCampus Sept. 2, after the Web site expanded and 185 new campuses, including Appalachian, were added to the list of available schools and universities.

On Sept. 9, there were approximately 70 posts under the “Appalachian State” category, and now, the number has risen to over 700.

Over 1,000 people have viewed several of the more popular posts.

The Web site was launched on Oct. 24, 2007 by Duke alumnus Matt Ivester.

Ivester said in an interview on Sept. 8 JuicyCampus was inspired by his own college experiences, and he simply wanted to give others the opportunity to share their own.

However, several of the posts contain specific names of Appalachian students as well as residence hall names and room numbers, making JuicyCampus a concern with some of the university’s administration.

Director of the Office of Student Conduct Judith M. Haas said she was worried about the safety of students who had personal information posted about them on the Web site.

She said there had been incidents in the past at Appalachian regarding online stalking where University Police had to be involved.

Haas said with Facebook, there was a general idea of who is posting potentially harmful information online, yet since the posts on JuicyCampus are from

unknown users, it makes it harder for the Office of Student Conduct to become involved.

“I have to have your name in order for you to come in here,” she said. “This is all anonymous.”

Haas said she encouraged students to remember what it means to be a student at Appalachian. “You can hide behind not being identified,” she said. “But how is this making our community a better place?”

Vice Chancellor for Student Development Cindy A. Wallace said online networking sites such as Facebook can be used in a positive way to keep people informed, however, using them to spread gossip is different.

She said Facebook, for example, was used appropriately in regards to rallying around those affected by the shooting at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

However, Wallace said she agreed with Haas in regards to JuicyCampus.

“Once you put something out on the Web, you can’t take it back,” she said. “I am deeply discouraged that we don’t respect each other more than that.”

Wallace said several of the posts, such as the ones personally naming students and their residence halls trampled on the safety of those individuals, and said the university would do everything possible to protect students.

“We do act upon safety issues—where the safety of the individual is at stake,” she said.

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