Staff editorial: Online maturity needed

Nearly two weeks ago, President Rodolfo Arévalo and ASEWU President Ryan Eucker sent an e-mail to students regarding “hateful and potentially harassing comments and pictures” posted on a Web site. Since the e-mail was sent, postings on campus gossip have become a major factor in social areas across Eastern’s campus.

The degrading material that has been posted, while not easily policed, is both unprofessional and immature. This editorial board concurs with both Arévalo and Eucker, being appalled by the rhetoric, and believes that the central issue surrounding the situation is one of personal responsibility.

We urge students to bring back the importance of education to the university instead of filling this institution with an extension of high school behavior. Part of that importance for students regarding the matter of Campus Gossip is to throw curiosity aside in order to prevent further escalation of the issue.

Web sites focusing on gossip will always be a part of the Internet; it’s inevitable. The decision rests with students whether they wish to engage themselves in behavior that puts themselves and others at risk in the future.

Sites like People of Wal-Mart and College Humor utilize photos and videos of the general public for amusement. One large difference, however, is that these sites don’t mention names of those involved, and the photos on those Web sites are not intended to humiliate those individuals. They’re meant to poke fun at society as a whole.
Freedom of speech is an essential part of our society, and we urge the university not to allow one rotten apple to sully the whole tree.

The university, while needing to take a specific stance on the issue, should not hastily come to a conclusion that it may regret in the future. At the moment, access to the Web site has been removed from computers on campus, but the question will remain the same when the restriction is pulled: “What now?” The decision process will start all over again.

In the end, responsibility for the Web site falls upon the students of the university to think before they post anything online. Whether on Facebook, MySpace or even campus gossip, there is a consequence for posting photos and comments online. Think before you post; it might save a friend and yourself in the end.