"We were kinda left in the dark about it. We didn't know if we were in trouble," he continued.
The students received no formal punishment from Res Life.
"If a situation arises where we can identify the students involved, we will talk with those students," said Humphreys, about finding pictures of underage students with alcohol in the residence halls. "As for the judicial process, that part would be up in the air."
The number of instances across the country involving students being charged with various offenses thanks to information derived from Internet sources has seen a sharp increase of late.
Earlier this week, The Northerner, the campus newspaper of Northern Kentucky University, reported that five NKU students were fined $50, put on a one-year probation from campus housing, and were forced to take classes on the dangers of binge drinking, because of Facebook pictures that featured the students with a keg in a dorm room - a violation of university policy.
The Technician, the student paper of North Carolina State University, reported a similar story last week involving 15 students charged with various alcohol offenses because of pictures posted on the Facebook from earlier in the semester.
And in the most extreme case this year, The Boston Globe reported that a Fisher College student was the first student to be expelled from a college due to information found on the Facebook. The student had made threatening comments about a campus police officer, saying among other things that the officer "loves to antagonize students ... and needs to be eliminated."
With the growth of the Facebook - approximately 85 percent of college students are members, according to the site - more information students might normally keep private is becoming public. As The Technician raised in an editorial, the situation brings up ethical concerns about privacy and what institutions can use to bring charges against students.
"I think it's a violation of student's privacy," said Jennifer Cadigan, CSOM '07. "If it's not anything that's dangerous or life threatening, it just seems like another means to get students in trouble."
With the proliferation of sources for sharing pictures and information online, this trend could continue. As Big Brother watches over, students may need to think twice about what information they put into the public domain.
"I feel it encroaches on personal freedoms. [Facebook] was designed as a forum for students to express themselves, but having administration interfere is a breach of that intention," said Sean MacDonald, A&S '08."
Spring Break
