MySpace, Facebook let freshmen check out roomies
And it's led some dorm residents, or their parents, to seek switch
College freshmen have a new way to learn more about the roommate they've been assigned for the upcoming school year: check out Facebook and MySpace.
But some students, and many parents, are so troubled by what they find on the social networking Web sites that they're asking university housing officers for new roommates, says Tavia Sessoms, director of housing administrative services at the College of Charleston.
'Students put anything and everything on these pages,' Sessoms said. Most complaints are about online photographs where students appear to be drinking alcohol, she said.
Housing officials at Clemson University said they've heard similar complaints and have also had requests to switch roommates.
Sessoms said it's a problem at colleges and universities nationwide. Facebook and MySpace are 'a very hot topic in university housing circles,' she said.
Housing officials at the University of South Carolina in Columbia said the school developed an online roommate matching system called Uchoose about seven years ago that has dramatically cut down on the number of students complaining about the roommates they've been assigned.
Sessoms said so far this year she's received between 200 and 250 requests for a new roommate.
She estimates that between 50 and 75 of those requests are because of information students and their parents found on Facebook or MySpace.
The college doesn't require students to give a reason why they want a different roommate, she said, so she can't say how many make such requests in response to information and photographs posted on Facebook or MySpace.
The College of Charleston, USC and Clemson all have policies that allow students to change room assignments as long as space is available.
Sessoms said there's also an upside to social networking Web sites. Some students have reported finding a roommate on the sites. The students were able to learn more about each other, then request to share a room rather than leaving the roommate match to the college's housing office, she said.
USC's housing director, Tim Coley, said the university's Uchoose system has students complete a profile on themselves and their housing preferences. The university posts the profiles online and students peruse them and select their own roommate, he said.
Students often look up potential roommates' pages on Facebook and MySpace and exchange e-mails before choosing a roommate, he said.
'It's a more natural sequence,' Coley said. 'You get to know someone before you choose them.'
Joe Fortune, USC's assistant director for undergraduate housing assignments, said before the university had Uchoose, students would pour into the housing office during the early weeks of a semester requesting new roommates. Now, he said, 'students trickle in.'
Coley said he thinks students complete the online profile themselves, so they answer the questions more truthfully. 'When we used paper and pencil methods in the old days, we suspect it was more parents filling out the forms,' he said.
Sessoms said that as social networking sites grow in popularity among college students, university officials are looking for ways to incorporate them into the way they do things.
For instance, she said, the college now sends a letter to students over the summer telling them their roommates name, address, phone number and e-mail address.
'We might eventually include students' Facebook and MySpace pages,' she said.
Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
This article has 8 comment(s)
Posted by hawneena on August 20, 2007 at 9:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I would estimate that about 90% of the photos on these websites depict students downing alcoholic beverages. Facebook which was started for college students has been open quite awhile to high schoolers.
Both of these sites are a great way for young adults to track down old friends. Unfortunately some of the kids using these sites give out way too much personal information.
Yes, I have looked at and read many comments posted on these sites when my son leaves his page open. You can navigate all over the place once you have entrance.
Some might say that is an invasion of privacy, but when it is left on my computer for anyone to see, then I feel that I have that right. It is sure one way to see who your kids are talking to and what they are up to.
If more parents were able to read the comments and see the pics, I bet they would be shocked.
Posted by charlene68 on August 20, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I have often read my daughter's my space ,, and i was shocked by some of the comments the friends made and did .
Posted by hawneena on August 20, 2007 at 11:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey, charlene, glad to see that I'm not the only one. Actually, my son sometimes shares things with me about the comments. He has shown me pics of kids that we all thought were goody-two-shoes, and guess what? These little "angels"
were guzzling beer and commenting on how great the keg parties were.
My girls are older, so they like to show me all of their old high school friends and what they are up to now. Some of the stuff is scary.
Posted by gamehen on August 20, 2007 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are definitely not the only one. Myspace has been a big issue in our family. Currently, I have permission to log on to my child's myspace. And if your parents can view it, you are less likely to post foolish stuff and just stick to keeping in touch with old friends. I've observed kids that really impressed me and some that trully horrified me. Some kids will talk about sex and drug use in PUBLIC comments.
It's actually not that hard to get their password. You should try if you are concerned about your child. Chances are, the parent paid for the the service and the computer, why should they expect privacy?
If they want to keep something from me, say it face to face or on their cell phone with my blessing. It's healthier and less likely to come back and haunt you.
Posted by huntress87 on August 20, 2007 at 4:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I happen to be me in my 30's and have to tell you I am still shocked @ some of the content, I know in my younger days I would have been beaten within an inch of my life (ok not really, but would have felt it for a week. The times are surely different now. I have found a lot of my friends from my YOUNGER days. (like 5-10 years)
Posted by mac0cm4 on August 20, 2007 at 4:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I personally love when the kids try to depict a holier than thou image to parents and authorities, but they forget, anything online is public domain and can easily be used against them in court. Love the pics of them doing illegal drugs. Warms my heart to see them sent off to DJJ or jail for it too.
Posted by wonderdog on August 20, 2007 at 8:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What a lot of these kids don't know is that college admissions/scholarships offices are checking out these websites to find out what the prospective students are REALLY like.......and it's not pretty.
Posted by pgraves13 on August 20, 2007 at 8:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As a recent college graduate, I agree that facebook and/or myspace can become a nuisance after graduation. As a college senior you learn to clean those sites because of the recent addition allowing anyone and everyone to join. Those pictures of us drinking alcohol when we were a freshman came back to haunt some of my friends.
With that being said, There are privacy settings that allow only your friends to view your profile, and if you sons or daughters are graduating in the near future, I would hint to them about the privacy settings and to get rid of pictures with them taking part in binge drinking activities like shotgunning beers!
Finally, Facebook really is a good tool to keep in touch with your friends after graduation or those who go to different schools, but as I learned discretion needs to take place.
Good luck with your children and I hope these sites will not effect any of their future endeavors.