Diversity College

Erik Farley, Adam Herman, Jean Mick, R. Casey Rue

Eastern Michigan UniversityEastern Michigan University

Facebook 101

The CaseA male student at Diversity College was accused, and later found responsible for, sexual harrassment and ID theft – both involving Facebook.com.

The student admitted to stealing his roommate’s Facebook login and password, entering his account, and sending a total of 31 messages to female students telling the women they were “hot,” he wanted to rape them, and if they said anything he would “make them pay the piper.”

During a hearing of the Student Conduct Board, the student was found responsible and immediately suspended. In addition to the suspension, the student was required to complete several hours of educational sanctions.

Because of this incident, we were charged with the task of addressing Facebook.com and other online issues on an ad-hoc committee.

The Task

1. Develop and implement a session as part of the orientation program for new students.

2. Identify topics to be addressed by an online Facebook.com tutorial that students must complete before they can access the school’s computer system. The program should take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete and include and exam at the end.

3. Give a mock up to the Dean of Student Life and Directors within the Student Life Division.

Diversity College Orientation – Facebooking: Friend or Foe?The Facebook.com orientation program will

include:

A Facebook overview

Reasons to use Facebook

Critical issues

Points to remember

Facebook.com Overview

Online social network aimed at college students

Started in 2004 by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg

Over 2500 Schools now included in the Facebook network

Must have a participating university affiliated e-mail account in order to register and create a profile

Typical profiles include photos, music and movie interests, some personal info, and the basis of Facebook.com, friend networks.

Facebook Overview (cont.)

Students can send a request to others to add them as friends As a privacy feature, you may search for friends at other

institutions, but may not view their profile unless they accept your friend request

This strict separation of schools was designed to keep the feeling of a “small, closely networked community”, which was the idea behind Facebook.com

Campus groups can also use Facebook in order to advertise happenings and events

Why Build a profile?

Students can connect with high-school friends that now attend other institutions

Students can also connect and learn about their friends and classmates at their own institution (interests, classes taken, dating status, summer plans, contact info.)

Creating and joining groups are also a popular way of showing one’s interests

Potential employment and promotional networks

Students that attend schools that are notorious for a weak dating scene often utilize Facebook.com to find companionship

Facebook.com: Critical Issues Facing Users Cyberstalking has become a concern among users of

Facebook.com, Livejournal.com, Myspace.com, and other similar sites.

Providing certain personal information may leave students vulnerable to identity theft

Posting photos of banned conduct (underage drinking, drinking in dorms, rushing the football field after a big win) has resulted in disciplinary action at campuses across the nation

Crtitical Issues (Cont.)

Students are starting to report that administrators, coaches, and other campus officials have created Facebook profiles, presumably to monitor student activity

There are also reports of employers using Facebook.com and Myspace.com in order to screen potential job applicants

Things to remember

Stay away from posting any personal information that you wouldn’t want unknown people to view

Understand that posting photos of compromising situations can lead to punishment or disciplinary action

Facebook.com has outstanding privacy features, such as allowing users to choose who is allowed to view their profile. Learn and use these features!

Presentation to the Dean of Students & Directors Facebook 101 tutorial overview Tutorial exam questions Necessity of presentations Ensuring the program’s success/ measurement of

success Feasibility evaluation Faculty/staff areas of concern Committee summary

Tutorial questions and content to center around… Student psychosocial and moral development Student safety Technology issues in general Responsibility to self, community, institution Student code of conduct Policy on the responsible use of technology

Facebook 101 Tutorial Exam Questions

1. I will face judicial sanctions for negative student conduct displayed on facebook.com?

True False

2. Everyone on facebook.com is honest about their identity?

True False

3. What kinds of pictures are inappropriate on facebook.com?

a) pets b)scenery c) art d) illegal substances

4. Which campus constituencies have access to facebook.com?

a) faculty b) administration c) students d.) all mentioned

5. Which type of information should be included on your facebook.com page?

a) social security number b) phone number c) address

d)none mentioned

6. Who can fall victim to improper use of facebook.com?

a) faculty b) administration c) students

d) all mentioned

Facebook 101 Tutorial Exam Questions (cont.)7. By logging off completely, students can decrease their chance of identity thief?

True False

8. Information needed to start a Facebook.com account includes;

a) name b) institution e-mail c) a& b d) none of the above.

9. If I am being harassed, I should:

a)interact with the harasser b) disassemble my page

c) report the individual to site administration d) none of the above

10. I can control my privacy options

True False

Necessity of Facebook Education

Impact on student communities and personal development

Impact on student safety Relevance to responsible student

technology use Issues of perception by key internal and

external stakeholders Development of personal responsibility

Student Communities and Personal Development Online communities connect students to people in

other circles of relationship and interconnectedness: Other students at Diversity College Students at other colleges in Northwest Ohio Students at colleges throughout the United States Non-college students both around the U.S. and in

geographical proximity to Northwest Ohio. University faculty and staff at Diversity and beyond Prospective employers Alumni of Diversity college

Student Communities and Personal Development

Students must be aware of how their Facebook personalities and profiles affect the perceptions of other students, faculty and staff, prospective employers.

A student must ask: What message do I bring to the Facebook.com community? What can others assume about my values? Do I appear to be fun, happy, inclusive, solemn? Do I demonstrate a disrespect for the law, for others, for

myself? What are other students likely to think about me from the

information I place on Facebook.com?

Impact on Student Safety

What happens when there’s too much information about me out there? Cyber-stalking Identity theft Easy access to personal details Photos online Threats to family members or other friends

Perceived “familiarity” Why tell people…

Where you live (where you’re sleeping)…? Your date of birth (for personal ID purposes…)? Your Cell Phone Number (to find you 24/7)?

Impact on Student Safety

Facebook can make it easy to… Threaten students. Make students feel marginalized. Use groups to separate students. Form cliques. Impersonate others.

Responsible Use of Technology Technology use policy

Ensures that primary use of technology is academic Ensures that technology use supports community and

institutional mission Ensures that users of technology are accountable for their use

of technology Facebook education will help students…

Identify responsible uses for Facebook Understand how to participate in the Facebook community in

a way that mirrors the academic mission of the institution Develop a sense of responsibility within students for the

actions they carry out in cyberspace.

Issues of perception by key internal and external stakeholders University administrators (dean of students, judicial affairs)

Use of Facebook information in forming opinions about students (inevitability) Use of Facebook in conduct investigations

Faculty members Perceptions of students Groups (“I Hate Professor XXXX…”)

Employers Is this someone I want to hire?

Alumni Is this the way I want students at “my” institution to behave?

Parents (yes, they’ll get on somehow) Why is my underage child drinking? I know my son/daughter is 21, but I had no idea how much s/he was drinking…

Personal Responsibility

Facebook education program will help students: Understand student code of conduct Become more responsible and discrete in giving out

information online Be proactive, rather than reactive, in ensuring

personal safety and personal information protection Take ownership for the kind of campus community

they want to have.

Program Evaluation – ensuring the success of the programs It is imperative that a delicate balance between challenge and support is

utilized in presenting questions and scenarios via the tutorial that will allow for student personal awareness, evaluation, and exploration to take place (Newton, 2000, p.13).

Students will be presented with questions that are inextricably intertwined with the core values of the university relative to student interaction and conduct. Furthermore, contemporary situations that reflect the student experience will be used to illustrate issues that students are facing nationally due to online misconduct.

It is important for all educators, including both faculty and administrators to recognize how they model what is important and valued as higher learning to students(p.15). In other words, faculty and administration will be required to attend the presentation and pass the prescribed assessment.

Program Evaluation – ensuring the success of the programs (Cont.) A student advisory board will be assembled to assist in creating and

maintaining the presentation and tutorial. Through students, faculty and administration will be able to understand, nourish, and find ways to influence student culture (p.14).

In The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, the author argues that the emergence of new social behaviors is most frequently the result of a few individuals who are able to create a “tipping point” of difference with a rather large sphere of influence.

“Tippers” are people who have large networks of contact with people from different subgroups.

Tippers access the pertinent signals and are able to anticipate the likes and inclinations of the student population (p.14).

Most importantly, tippers possess the “stickiness factor,” which is the ability to communicate a message in a manner that sticks, so it will be remembered by others.

By engaging those students who are considered tippers or sounding boards, message carriers, and potential change agents, all university perspectives will be represented and thereby worthwhile and applicable to each college constituency (p.14)

How to Measure Program Success Measurement can be attained from compiling statistical data that cross-

examines the total number of freshmen students with the number who actually pass the assessment. Furthermore, an eye on student misconduct relative to technological interaction will provide a level of successor failure as a result of prior written, verbal and interactive instruction presented by this presentation and tutorial.

Feasibility Evaluations

Every two years, following the conclusion of fall orientation programs and online tutorials/exams, there will be an evaluation of the feasibility of continuing these programs.

We will be looking at:

Success of the program

-Based on the evaluation of the programs previously mentioned

Staffing needs to continue the program/ time needed

-Utilizing a survey of the involved parties

Our online capabilities – are we able to stay up-to-date?

-Review of our current technological resources in comparison to “new” technology

Are Facebook.com and other online “blogging” sites still as prevalent/ are these educational programs still necessary?

-Stay up-to-date during programs to make sure students are still using the sites

Faculty/Staff Items to Keep in Mind1. The use of internet with today’s students – it is their life therefore we cannot take that away

- “For our students who make up the ‘net generation’…what we consider as technology comprises the most basic aspects of their environment” (Kruger, 2005, p.104).

2. Emotional fragility – many of these students have lived their lives incredibly sheltered, thus are unaware of some of the dangers lurking on such sites

- “Howe and Strauss…describe the Millenials as ‘the focus of the most sweeping youth safety movement in American History” (Lowery, 2004, p.89).

3. Our students are technologically savvy, therefore we must be as well

- “Student affairs professionals must master and keep up-to-date with technical skills relevant to their roles and responsibilities, be knowledgeable of vended products and technology solutions applicable to their work, and balance this technical competency on a solid conceptual foundation of knowledge about students” (Moneta, 2005, p.10).

4. Sites such as Facebook.com and other “blogging” sites are extremely popular ways to student networking. As student affairs administrators we must protect the students while letting them have a reasonable amount of privacy and independence.

- “Social nets allow students to connect and link with other students based on similar interests, such as favorite band or sports team” (Shier, 2005, p.83).

What the Committee Learned“I must say that this project was a pleasure and a challenge. As a burgeoning Student Affairs Practioner, I will have to plan and execute a number of quality services and support for the undergraduate population. This experience was an awesome exercise in accurately articulating student development theories and best practices in a format that merits attention and serious consideration from students, staff and faculty.”-Erik Farley “I learned that the technological resources being

used by students are changing as fast as the students are. As professionals, we really need to make sure we’re protecting the safety of our students while at the same time allowing them to explore life and learn their own lessons. It’s difficult to do both of those things! But, by familiarizing ourselves with the latest and greatest student crazes, we have a much better chance at being able to help the students be happy, safe, and successful.”

-Jean Mick

“This project has really increased my awareness of issues involving online security and popular friend network sites. It also raises questions of privacy when students’ profiles are monitored.”

-R. Casey Rue

“Issues surrounding Facebook are complex and don't have easy answers. Facebook reminds us of the ongoing need to continue to grow and adapt in our methods as the tools available to our students change and develop."-Adam Herman

Pertinent Literature & ReferencesBomey, N. (2/15/06). Facebook could hurt job chances, The Eastern

Echo, 111. p.1.

Facebook.com F.A.Q, referenced 02/11/06, http://www.facebook.com/help.php

Gladwell, M. (2002). The tipping point. United States: Malcom Gladwell.

Kruger, K. (2005). What we know and the difference it makes. New Directions for Student Services, 112. P. 103-107.

Lowery, J.W. (2004). Student affairs for a new generation. New Directions for Student Services, 106. P. 87-99.

Moneta, L. (2005). Technology and student affairs: Redux. New Directions for Student Services, 112. P. 3-14.

Newton, F. B. (2000). The new student. About Campus, November-December. 8-15.

Read, B. (2004). Have you Facebooked Him? The Chronicle of Higher Education, 50. P. A29.

Shier, M.T. (2005). The way technology changes how we do what we do. New Directions for Student Services, 112. P. 77-87.

Pertinent Literature & References (cont.)