Are Colleges Responsible or Allowed to Protect Students Over the Internet?

Joel Kirby

In the digital world we live in, the internet has become an essential part of the education process for both college students and their professors. Email is a primary means of communication between teacher and student, and online books are common. The internet has also become a social outlet for many students, with networking sites like facebook and twitter becoming very popular. Unfortunately, gossip around campus is making its way on the internet, and personal attacks and defamatory remarks are not that uncommon on sites like “College Anonymous Confession Board” and “Campus Gossip”. Although students can post anonymously on such sites, many question whether college officials are “given the right” to censure such sites on their campus, or take action on reported cases of harassment. However, “online” defamatory remarks cannot be treated the same as “offline” defamatory remarks because the internet is accessible anywhere. Colleges should not try to referee or censor such online sites. Instead, Colleges should assist any student reporting harassment, and of course investigate into any physical threats made on such sites.

The issue colleges face nowadays in a cyber world is whether they have the same rights and responsibilities over students as a legal guardian does. The term “in loco parentis”, in regards to a college, refers to an institution basically assuming the role of a parent over its students. The nature of the governing relationship between college and student is, and has always been, debatable. The site “Juicy Campus”, arguably the most notorious “college gossip site”, was one of the first sites to present colleges with this predicament. While in operation, it allowed anyone to anonymously post comments on its site, had comments specific to particular institutions, and was a means of making personal attacks and liable comments about students. One of the first reactions of colleges was to restrict this site’s access. However, this was neither appropriate nor practical. Restricting access to a site may annoy students, but would not prevent students from accessing the site from their own apartment or the local Starbucks. Colleges cannot feasibly control students’ internet browsing, and should instead try to familiarize and educate students on the internet and its positive relationship with education.