MADISON BLASZ
Special to The Leader
Can what you say on social media get you in trouble with your college?
That was the case for Kimberly Diei, a pharmacy graduate student at the University of Tennessee.
According to The New York Times, the university tried to expel her because some of her social media posts were considered “vulgar,” “crude” and not keeping up with her chosen profession’s practices.
Could something like that happen at SUNY Fredonia?
Maybe.
While Fredonia’s Code of Conduct outlines behavioral expectations for students on campus, they also have expectations of what is posted online.
Fredonia’s Social Media Policy says: “Content should be free of vulgar, racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise objectionable matter, including personal attacks against named individuals. Content that violates university website policy or local, state, or federal law will be removed.”
At Fredonia, Director of Student Conduct, Lisa Newell has overseen the university’s judicial system for a little over 13 years.
Newell holds students accountable when they do not meet the standards that the university expects from its students.
“If there is an allegation related to behavior on social media, we have policies related to harassment, cyberbullying, inappropriate use of the campus network and more,” said Newell.
The Computer and Network Usage Policy has a section about the unauthorized use and it says, “Violation of these regulations is unethical and may constitute a criminal offense.”
It depends on the situation, but if it violates the Code of Conduct, the university will investigate it and decide how to move forward.
“It is important to note that if someone reports inappropriate behavior happening online, sharing with us as much information as possible is key,” said Newell.
“We often receive information that lacks details, such as date, time, location, names of those involved.”
The First Amendment protects many situations, so when the university gets notified of an issue on social media, the university has to do a thorough investigation before moving forward in any way.
Professor Mike Igoe has taught communication at Fredonia for eight years.
When discussing the First Amendment, Igoe said, “The First Amendment is like a balancing act, since it is not an absolute right anymore. This act is called ad hoc balancing, where a court or even a college examines the case by its unique facts.”
When talking about people who live on or off campus and posting online, it would be considered a unique case.
“I think it is right for colleges to be concerned about the images of their students and how they are presenting themselves out in the community,” said Igoe.
“Destroying property or anything off-campus that gives a bad name to the college I think they have a right to speak about it, but they do not have a right to do anything about it. At least according to the legal trends.”
Jacqulynn Demarco, a senior at Fredonia, does not regulate what she posts on social media.
“I post whenever I want and always re-share posts that I find funny.”
Upon discovering that her posts can be sent to the school if found offensive or crude, DeMarco responded, “When did this ever become a rule? Never in my four years here at Fredonia did I know that the school can hold us accountable for what we post online.”
On hearing about the student conduct rules that are present on Fredonia’s campus of online use, DeMarco said, “Do other students even know that these rules exist, like how come these rules were never really brought to our attention?”
Anna Mohan, a freshman at Fredonia, loves spending her free time on social media platforms.
“Posting on social media is a way I can express myself to others,” she said.
Hearing about the conduct codes and how she could get in trouble caught her off guard.
“When coming to Fredonia, I remember freshman orientation talking about the student conduct, but I do not remember them saying anything about social media policies.”
“If students are posting offensive things about the school and post a picture [they should be penalized], but if it is not even on campus property, I feel they do not have a right.”
Even though it takes a lot to get in trouble with the university regarding what’s appropriate for social media, it always comes back to the basic saying: think before you post.