Since its launch in 2002, Facebook has become an indoctrinated element of college social life and a way for students to chronicle extracurricular activities that are not always congruent with university policies or even the law.
Photos and other incriminating information students put online are available to anyone with university e-mail addresses, including school officials. At UW-Madison, officials do not use Facebook to seek out transgressors, though the administration browses students' profiles to verify incriminating evidence or reconcile discrepancies.
According to Interim Associate Dean of Students, Elton Crim, it is common to use the website to corroborate or invalidate evidence, particularly when students try to deny certain behavior.
If they say, ‘I've never drank' or ‘I don't smoke weed,' and you go to their Facebook profile and there's a picture of them holding a bong, we can say, ‘Well what's this then?'\ Crim said.
When it comes to alcohol violations, University Housing relies on the direct knowledge obtained by housing staff and UW Police, according to Assistant Director of University Housing Kevin Helmkamp. University Housing rarely uses Facebook in disciplinary situations in the dorms and has never used it to initiate action against students engaging in illegal behavior.
Helmkamp said the only time Facebook factors into disciplinary hearings is when students harass other students through the website itself.
""There is a difference between saying, ‘I drank in the hall the other night' … versus harassing or threatening somebody else,"" he said. ""Then the statement on Facebook isn't simply talking about the violation; it is the violation.""
Chris Hughes, official Facebook spokesperson and one of three Harvard University Facebook founders, said in an e-mail that faculty is legally able to use information gathered from students' profiles.
""We have a pretty simple message for students who are bothered by faculty behavior,""he said. ""Change your privacy settings. Users can make it so that only students can see the info or even so that only friends can. Users have complete control over who can see what.""
The UW Campus Police refrained from commenting about whether they use Facebook in investigations, but stressed that students put their physical well-being and privacy at risk through Facebook profiles. Crim agreed, calling Facebook a ""stalkers haven.""
Helmkamp said he believes Facebook provides a good way to educate students about the consequences of images they post.
""There is a very real concern that we have in regards to how students portray themselves on Facebook and what is reality,"" Helmkamp said. ""What one does for the benefit of one's close friends takes on a very different tenor when somebody who doesn't know you reads it.""\
