From the most recent CHE: “Lawyers’ Advice to Colleges About Internet Gossip: Educate, Don’t Regulate.”
With the proliferation of Internet sites for personal expression, colleges have become entangled in numerous high-profile scandals in recent years after students or faculty members have posted mean-spirited rumors or salacious photos online.
But the way to curb that trend is not to enforce more-restrictive speech codes or chase down the source of every anonymous rumor, several higher-education legal experts said on Wednesday during a panel session at the annual conference here of the National Association of College and University Attorneys.
Actually, what they were talking about was sites like the now defunct Juicy Campus, which published rumors and stuff about college campuses that makes EMUTalk.org look like the Wall Street Journal or something. Interesting piece nonetheless, and I think the best advice from lawyers: be open, respect free speech, don’t try to cover up. Not that EMU would be anything but open, respectful of free speech, avoiding cover-ups, etc. (cough-cough)
Agreed! Juicy Campus has since shut down, but when it first started it was the hottest thing around. Another website that recently launched is http://www.isleptthroughclass.com which is a note sharing website for college students. And stuents are actually rewarded for posting their notes, which other students can retrieve free of charge. Freedom of speech to me is one of the most beautiful things about this country, but at the same time, its important not to abuse this freedom and act ethically within certain boundaries.