Forget fingerprints or security cameras - university administrators can now find out "whodunit" on the Internet, with Web sites like Facebook.com and Youtube.com.
Rights and regulations surrounding this new technology are relatively unclear, and as a result the use of networking Web sites as a law enforcement tool has been up for debate.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, colleges across the country are deciding to what extent they should use Facebook as a way to monitor student behavior and legal compliance.
Many students voluntarily post pictures of themselves participating in illegal activities, such as underage drinking, drug use and hazing activities. Assistant Political Science Professor Deborah Schildkraut said that students should be wary of these decisions.
"It's important that students recognize that if they post something, it's public. It comes with risks," she said. "If a student keeps a diary and someone reads it, yes, that is personal, but it is also documented. People need to be aware there are consequences, but what's new is how easy it is for people to get caught."
One freshman, who wished to remain anonymous, found this out the hard way earlier this year.
"When I first got to Tufts, I wanted to party, so I set up a Beirut tournament [invitation] on Facebook," he said. "I set everything to private, so I don't know exactly how it happened, but an RA saw it and reported it to my RA, who sent the link to the police. While the tournament was happening, about an hour in, the police came and broke it up in my dorm room."
In spite of this incident, the freshman said that he has not changed anything about the way he uses Facebook.
"I had everything set so that only my friends could look at it; I didn't even have it set so that the entire Tufts network could see it," he said. "I knew that I didn't want future employers or the school seeing anything, and I still don't know how I was caught, so no, I haven't changed anything."
"I think it is the student's fault if they get caught, but I don't think it's the school's business to be poking around in the social lives of students," he added.
Freshman Noelle Nacov agreed.
"I think you have to know that everything you put on the Internet will be seen by a lot of people, and you should be ready to deal with the consequences. You have to know it's not private," she said.
Nacov said that she avoids appearing in photographs which could be potentially incriminating, explaining that Facebook's "un-tag" feature, which removes a student's name from a photograph, could be used for more privacy.
However, she had her own opinion on why many college students do not use as much discretion.
"I think that people try to prove to others that they're having a good time, and in college, they do that by partying," she said. "Therefore red cups end up in every picture. There's no need to post that. If you have any doubt in your mind, you may as well avoid the punishment and not post it."
Sophomore Kaon Lam agreed that both students and school administrators must take on some of the responsibility.
"It's a very delicate situation. If you put something online, you want people to see it. Both should have boundaries on where people are stepping over the line," he said.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, colleges all over the country have suspended or penalized students when they found photographs of hazing incidents and racially offensive parties.
However, this easy and effective method of identifying problematic behavior could lead to prosecution of the universities. If one department of a university actively monitors behavior on the Internet while others do not, the university could face a lawsuit for using a double standard, the article explained.
Schildkraut said that using the Internet to seek out illegal behavior could come with negative consequences.
"It seems a bit 'Big-Brotherish' to me," she said. "I would hope that they're doing better things with their time. The university might be wrong to ignore [problematic behavior] if they come across it, but actively seeking it out seems unfair. There's real value in treating students like adults."
A recent article in the Associated Press explored another way that the Internet is playing a part in solving crimes. Police were able to load surveillance tapes to YouTube so that people can watch the footage and help identify criminals.
Schildkraut stressed that these instances are only the beginning, and that grey areas regarding restrictions will continue to be questioned.
"I think the Internet will be huge in legal matters," she said. "It is evolving. The only way to decide [policies] is to fight it out in the courts.
"Is monitoring something on the Internet like listening to a telephone conversation or is it like reading a poster?" she added. "We talk about the Internet as a singular concept, but an e-mail is more like the phone, whereas a blog is more like a newspaper or an ad. Where you draw that line is what you fight out."
