Colleges warning students about Net postings

~ Officials, law enforcement are checking out Web sites.

Incoming college students are hearing the usual warnings this summer about the dangers of everything from alcohol to credit card debt. But many are also getting lectured on a new topic -- the risks of Internet postings, particularly on popular social networking sites such as Facebook.com.

From large public schools such as Western Kentucky to smaller private ones like Birmingham-Southern and Smith, colleges around the country have revamped their orientation talks to students and parents to include online behavior.

Southeast Missouri State University advised students this summer for the first time about the risk of online postings during orientation sessions for new students.

Southeast has several "First Step" orientation sessions during the summer to familiarize incoming students with campus life, including everything from food to classes.

The Internet warnings are just part of the school's efforts to ensure student safety, said university spokeswoman Ann Hayes.

She said students need to know that such postings aren't private. "What they put out can be viewed by just about anybody," she said.

Student government president Adam Hanna of Cape Girardeau welcomed the university's effort to better inform students about Internet posting risks.

But most students already know about such risks before they enter college, he said. "Today's college students have lived with computer technology throughout middle school and high school," he said.

Hanna routinely communicates with friends via Facebook. "It is a good way to keep in touch with people," he said.

But Hanna said he doesn't post his address or his home phone number on the Internet site.

Some schools do more than just talk about the risks. Washington University in St. Louis presents role-playing skits on the topic.

Facebook, geared toward college students and boasting 7.5 million registered users, is a particular focus. But students are also hearing stories about those who came to regret postings to other online venues, from party photos on sites such as Webshots.com to comments about professors in blogs.

The attention colleges are devoting to the topic is testimony both to the exploding popularity of online networking on campus, and to the time and energy administrators have spent dealing with the fallout when students post things that become more public than they intended.

Northwestern temporarily suspended its women's soccer program last spring after hazing photos surfaced online, while athletes at Elon University, Catholic University, Wake Forest and the University of Iowa were also disciplined or investigated. At least one school, Kent State in Ohio, temporarily banned athletes from posting profiles on Facebook, and now allows them to do so only with restricted access.

Non-athletes at numerous schools from North Carolina State to Northern Kentucky have been busted for alcohol violations based on digital photographs. A University of Oklahoma freshman's joke in Facebook about assassinating President Bush prompted a visit from the Secret Service.

"I think they don't realize that others have" so much access, said Aaron Laushway, associate dean of students at the University of Virginia, which first incorporated the topic into orientation a year ago.

Many colleges tell students they won't actively patrol online profiles to look for evidence of wrongdoing but are obliged to respond to complaints , officials say.

Southeast's judicial affairs office has used photos posted on the Facebook Web site to take disciplinary action against students for campus violations.

Police at the Cape Girardeau school have used it to keep tabs on student drinking parties. Campus police have e-mailed students to warn them they might be in violation of underage drinking laws or selling alcohol without a license.

The real safety concern, college officials say, is the possibility that students can be stalked through the Internet.

Students can fall victim to Internet predators and identity theft by posting personal information such as home addresses and telephone numbers on such Web sites, said Randy Carter, coordinator of judicial affairs at Southeast.

Carter advises students to avoid posting such personal information. "It is kind of common sense to me," he said.

Southeast Missourian staff writer Mark Bliss contributed to this report.

On the Net

* www.facebook.com