Spring Break
Panhel asks MU to ban gossip site
Clint Reinbolt
Issue date: 12/9/08 Section: Front Page
On Nov. 12, Tennessee State University became the first public institution to ban the gossip Web site JuicyCampus.com from its servers.
News of the ban has caused a stir at a number of other institutions, including Miami University, where a growing number of students are beginning to speak out against the Web site.
Since the fall of 2007, Juicy Campus has been shifting the arena of student gossip from hallways and bathroom stalls to the World Wide Web. Currently, students at more than 500 universities, including Miami, use the Web site to spill the "juice" on their peers.
Juicy Campus is currently ranked as the 3,297th most popular Web site in the U.S., according to the Alexa Web Information company.
Though the site is popular, it has been the centerpiece of controversy for much of its short history. In February 2008, CNN published a story about Juicy Campus under the headline "College Web Site Posts Sex Gossip, Hate, Rumor."
One problem students have is the lack of credibility of the claims made on the site. According to the Web site's terms of use, Juicy Campus has the right, but not the obligation to rearrange or remove posts.
Miami junior Ryan Macke thinks the site is full of lies.
"I would say over 99 percent of the time, people are just posting lies," he said. "I would never take something I read on Juicy Campus as true."
Another problem most people see with the Web site is its promise of total anonymity to posters. According to Juicy Campus' privacy policy, the site "does not require personally identifiable information from our users when they read or post messages to the Juicy Campus gossip board."
The Web site does not identify individual users who post on it, according to their privacy policy.
"If people had to make their names public before saying things about somebody else, I think a lot less of the hateful rumors would spread on Juicy Campus," said Andrea Akin, vice president of public relations for Panhellenic (Panhel) Association.
News of the ban has caused a stir at a number of other institutions, including Miami University, where a growing number of students are beginning to speak out against the Web site.
Since the fall of 2007, Juicy Campus has been shifting the arena of student gossip from hallways and bathroom stalls to the World Wide Web. Currently, students at more than 500 universities, including Miami, use the Web site to spill the "juice" on their peers.
Juicy Campus is currently ranked as the 3,297th most popular Web site in the U.S., according to the Alexa Web Information company.
Though the site is popular, it has been the centerpiece of controversy for much of its short history. In February 2008, CNN published a story about Juicy Campus under the headline "College Web Site Posts Sex Gossip, Hate, Rumor."
One problem students have is the lack of credibility of the claims made on the site. According to the Web site's terms of use, Juicy Campus has the right, but not the obligation to rearrange or remove posts.
Miami junior Ryan Macke thinks the site is full of lies.
"I would say over 99 percent of the time, people are just posting lies," he said. "I would never take something I read on Juicy Campus as true."
Another problem most people see with the Web site is its promise of total anonymity to posters. According to Juicy Campus' privacy policy, the site "does not require personally identifiable information from our users when they read or post messages to the Juicy Campus gossip board."
The Web site does not identify individual users who post on it, according to their privacy policy.
"If people had to make their names public before saying things about somebody else, I think a lot less of the hateful rumors would spread on Juicy Campus," said Andrea Akin, vice president of public relations for Panhellenic (Panhel) Association.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Meredith
posted 12/10/08 @ 1:16 PM EST
I feel that JuicyCampus is an awful site and that Miami should avoid its use. However, isn't a campus all about freedom of speech? If we ban this site what does it say about us a a university. (Continued…)
Max
posted 12/11/08 @ 5:47 AM EST
I agree with the above post. As asinine, rude, and wreckless as JC might be, people have the freedom to use it as they wish. Honestly, I don't think that it's meant to cause harm to people, it's just a gossip site, with very little difference between it and the tabloids filled with celebrity gossip every week. (Continued…)
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