SEAHO Report - Summer 2012 - (Page 14)

SEAHO FEATURE year-old Dharun Ravi faces 15 counts including bias intimidation and invasion of privacy against Clementi” (Associated Press, 2012). Not condoning the actions of Ravi, but it is clear that his life has been severely impacted by his reckless and uncaring use of social media. For a global perspective we can look to Asia. “In China, netizens have resorted to cyber manhunt, known as the “human flesh search engine,” to expose details of individuals who have violated social norms one way or another achieving social shaming, monitoring, and ostracism” (Cheung, A.S.Y, 2009, 323). I do not want to police the residence halls – and I certainly do not want to police the internet. However, the internet is an integral part of how our students make friends, access information and develop community. Not only does drinking underage in the residence halls lead to a potential student conduct hearing, advertising the event on twitter “#KEGGERinROOM215” with photographs of other underage drinkers in a residence hall room is also fair game for a conduct officer. We want our students to be successful. Their actions in the classroom, on campus, off campus and in cyberspace will all play a part in their success at the institution and beyond. Fortunately, we have not had to deal with the issues currently facing Rutgers or China, but this could very well be our reality. Our students need to know the good, the bad and the ugly of social media; this begins with open dialogue, intentional conversations and programming centered on these matters. In a recent discussion with law students preparing for full-time employment, students were advised “to clean up, or even take down social media profiles,” summed up in the statement, “’If you think you want to be a judge, take everything down now’” (Tillman, 2012). The Conversations and the E-versations. If your electronic mail inbox looks anything like mine at 8:00am, you have contemplated grabbing your coat, scarf and keys, and leaving your office. But there is a duality in that feeling – for the sadness I may feel at the 100+ new messages, there is a comfort in knowing that some face-to-face conversations can be avoided with the click of a button. This is how many of us have transformed our communication with our professional colleagues and our students. Reflect a moment with me, how many times have you communicated with a student via email because it was easier or saved time, as opposed to facilitating a faceto-face interaction? In a time when meeting agendas look a lot like email inboxes, I would challenge us to think about the effects of social media and our roles as educators. Quite possibly, a student could go through an entire day without having a meaningful face-to-face interaction with anyone, including a roommate, because of their mastery of, or addiction to, social media and new technologies. Is this the world we want? If not, I implore you to consider adding an extra meeting or time slot in your day to find a student and give them an opportunity to practice a rather antiquated form of communication – an in-person conversation. Social media is a great tool for residential communities. All of our residence halls and apartment complexes at Old Dominion University have Facebook and Twitter accounts and Blackboard communities – using them to connect with residents, market programs and events, and disseminate important information. As a department, we have further use online media via HooteSuite – a program allowing us to pre-develop posts and updates, scheduling them for future posting to our various media pages. We see and benefit from the utility of these online communities. As much as we would love for our residents to not launder their personal business online, or use it to facilitate passive aggressive arguments – hope alone will not change anything. We must be fearless in our approach to social media, proactive in our education of it with students, and decisive in how we address and mediate online behaviors in our residential communities and at our institutions. Associated Press. (2012). Rutgers student saved antigay tweets before committing suicide. New York Post. Retrieved from http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/prosecutors _to_call_tech_expert_W4dbeEov5fbHsyNbCEB 3FM March 6, 2010. Bruckman, A, Danis, C, Lampe, C, Sternberg, J, Waldron, C. (2006). Managing deviant behavior in online communities. Panel Discussion. April 22 – 27th, 2006. Montréal, Québec, Canada. Cheung, A.S.Y. (2009). A study of cyber violence and internet service providers’ liability: Lessons from China. Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal . Vol 18(2), pages 323 – 346). 14 SEAHO Report Summer 2012 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/prosecutors_to_call_tech_expert_W4dbeEov5fbHsyNbCEB3FM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEAHO Report - Summer 2012

SEAHO Report - Summer 2012