By Elaine Gu
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006, The OG, news

IN ENGLISH classes Tuesday, each student received a pamphlet titled “MySpace May Not be Just YOUR Space — What Employers Find on the Internet May Hurt You.” This pamphlet, created by the University of Illinois Student Legal Service, warns students that their personal Web sites may not be as private as they think. (Click here to download a PDF file of the pamphlet.)

In today's world, most high school students are familiar with social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. These sites provide a space for students to create their own profiles, post pictures, interests, quotes, and comment on each other's sites. The site usually also has a “group” or “ring” for each school.

Although these sites provide a great way to stay in touch with friends, they can cause negative consequences. Employers and college recruiters are now looking at applicants' MySpace or Facebook pages to determine whether or not their candidates are qualified for the position. They may go directly to sites such as myspace.com and facebook.com to search for profiles of their applicants.

According to the pamphlet, even though companies and schools cannot discriminate against an applicant based on his or her skin color or nationality, they can reject candidates whose Web site they consider “disgusting, immature, or questionable.” If they uncover any material that they consider inappropriate, they have the right to deny the applicant an interview or even withdraw their application even after they've been accepted.

The pamphlet offers a list of tips on what you shouldn't post on your Web site, including things such as nude photographs, images or stories involving drug use or excessive drinking, and violent images.

While these may appear to be common sense to most people, Assistant Director Sue Kovacs (who first heard about this pamphlet through a student's parent) says that is not the case. She says she's seen photos on Facebook “that violate every one of those things in there.”

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, schools cannot always punish students for their off-campus speech. However, they can use students' Web sites for other rule violations, such as underage drinking or illegal drug use. According to Kovacs, the administration also has the right to alert parents about their child's behavior.

Not only can your reputation be affected by what you post, you can also be put into harm's way. Putting up suggestive pictures of yourself on sites such as MySpace subjects you to online predators. Providing street addresses, phone numbers, or e-mail addresses makes you even more vulnerable to stalkers.

Kovacs encourages students to share these pamphlets with their parents.

“I want the parents to realize and to alert you all that there are potential dangers,” she says. “If you're following the rules in there, you should be fine. But if you don't follow the rules, you are causing problems to not only you, but maybe your family or your school.”

All in all, networking sites like MySpace and Facebook are a great way to stay in touch with friends. However, be careful of what you post. Set your profiles to be viewed by “friends only” and never reveal your address or phone number.

So what can you post? A good guideline is — don't put up anything that you wouldn't want your grandma to see.

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