Juicy campus got attack!
By on
August 25th, 2008
Everyone loves gossip. We gossip about friends and we gossip about foes. Such idle talk allows us to convey information quickly, although not always accurately. That is why the website Juicy Campus has been increasing in popularity since it was founded on August 1, 2007.
The site was created by Mark Ivester, a Duke University Alum, with “the simple mission of enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses.” (Editor’s Note: That’s a nice way to refer to sh*t talking!) There are currently 64 colleges listed on the site, including many prestigious institutions such as Harvard, UPenn, and Brown. The topics on the site range from the innocent (”Best Frat on Campus”) to the scandalous (”Sex with Professors”). Each post gets a rating ranging from 0% Juicy to 100% Juicy, so the juicier the gossip, the better the rating.
Everything posted on Juicy Campus is anonymous. And this site is protected by a federal law that prevents Web sites from being held liable for content posted by others. Isn’t free speech just grand?
Some students and faculty at the University of Florida don’t think so, and they’re looking to take action against the rumor propagator. University of Florida Student Body President, Kevin Riley, and Chief Information Officer, Marc Hoit, recently issued this letter to the Florida Attorney General asking that the Florida Office of the Attorney General launch an investigation into Juicy Campus, the well-known gossip site. They did not elaborate on what kind of investigation they expect the state to launch.
This summer, the Independent Alligator reported that:
After about a dozen students came to him and complained about the site, Student Body President Kevin Reilly sent a letter in June to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, urging him to investigate the popular gossip site that allows people to post anonymously. The letter, also signed by Marc Hoit, UF’s former chief information officer, states that the site plays host to cyberbullying and raises concerns about public welfare and safety.
“It is not uncommon for posts on Juicy Campus to mention students by name and discuss their sexual histories, their sexual orientation and even speculate as to their HIV status,” the letter stated.
The letter reads:
“[JuicyCampus] is used to anonymously post gossip regarding students. The anonymity, and the guarantee that information about a user’s identity will not be tracked, provided by JuicyCampus emboldens users to post false and damaging statements about others. These posts often amount to cyberbullying and raise issues of public welfare and safety.”
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