The Facebook and similar Web sites, such as MySpace and LiveJournal, are public sources of information that can be accessed by anyone, but students seem to be unaware that university faculty, employers and police departments are looking at them as well.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, four students at Northern Kentucky University were caught sneaking a keg into their dorm because they took a picture of themselves with the keg and posted it on Facebook.

According to the same article, the campus police at Pennsylvania State University were able to charge students who rushed the field at the Penn State-Ohio State football game because someone created a club on Facebook called “I Rushed the Field After the OSU Game (And Lived!).”

– From Chris Hughes,

spokesman for Facebook

Similar cases have not occurred at Iowa State, but that doesn’t mean ISU students are free and clear.

“We don’t actively monitor Facebook,” said Bethany Schuttinga, assistant dean of students. “It’s not our intention and that’s not a goal for our office to spend our time doing that.”

She gave advice to students not to post information that an employer may deem inappropriate.

“A Facebook profile is a social resume,” Schuttinga said. “Would you really want an employer to have access to this profile in which you’re engaging in activity ‘xyz?'”

She also said the university could technically use information posted to find students who cause problems.

“What they’re choosing to post in a public forum is public information, and as an institution we can take disciplinary action,” Schuttinga said.

The ISU Police Department has been known to use the site for investigations, but does not use it as a concrete form of evidence.

“There have been online postings that have contributed to investigations,” said ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger. “By themselves they don’t hold much evidential value. They’re hearsay.”

Schuttinga said that the postings can help piece together a puzzle about an issue, but they are not the strongest piece of evidence.

She said that a student could post a picture of themselves holding a beer can on Facebook, but there is no proof that the person was drinking or that there was alcohol in the cans.

And she isn’t the only person warning students of the potential dangers of sites like the Facebook.

“Students should be very careful about what personal information they put on that Web site,” said Kim Smith, professor of journalism and mass communication. “The reason everybody should be concerned about this is understanding that your Web site is going to be read by people literally all over the world, not just your close circle of friends that you can trust.”

Smith added that because everyone is a potential distributor of information on blogging and personal sites such as the Facebook, everyone is subject to libel and defamation laws.

Samuel Braverman, junior in mechanical engineering, said that he had heard rumors that Iowa State has people monitoring Facebook, but didn’t think anyone beyond that would use the site.

“I definitely did not think employers would look at Facebook,” he said.

Smith said that a bigger concern individuals should be considering is how the information that is posted affects perceptions.

“For example, if you put up a bunch of pictures of yourself where you’ve obviously been drinking heavily, most of your friends might find those pictures amusing, but what about future employers?” he said. “You may have a First Amendment right to say anything you want about anybody on Facebook, but that doesn’t free you from the consequences of your action.”

Paul Tanaka, university counsel, said he doesn’t see any problem with people viewing Facebook to gain contextual evidence.

“It’s legal for anyone to view the site,” he said.

Jason Eastvold, freshman in mechanical engineering, said joining groups on Facebook is a way to show a person’s support or dislike for certain issues. Posting on these groups doesn’t mean they would act on their feelings, he said.

Michael Bugeja, director for the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, said that developing technology, such as surveillance videos, that are readily available to the police and can identify the people in them are no different than pictures posted on the Web.

“I think students do not take it seriously as they might and that’s the problem,” he said.