Juicy Campus: A Face-to-Face Forum
By Noelle Lopez
On Monday, November 10, students from a variety
of backgrounds gathered to share their unique perspectives on
what has of late become a significant topic of ethical discussion
on campus. Juicy Campus is an online forum that has been called
into question by university administration, faculty, and students
alike. The objection is that the website, of which Santa Clara
University is a relatively new member, simply provides a space
for negative anonymous online blogging that is slanderous and
hurtful to campus individuals, not to mention explicitly racist
or sexist at times.
The recent Juicy Campus event began with a panel of three Santa
Clara students sounding off on the issue. Alicia Nguyen, Director
of the Multicultural Center, offered her perspective, urging
students to be pro-active and attend events that aim to foster
community togetherness rather than letting division and apathy
be the norm.
Rachel Manfre, President of Associated Students, also urged
students to believe in their ability to effect change on campus
and address the root causes operating in the phenomenon of negative
anonymous online blogging. Both Manfre and Nguyen emphasized
the openness of their respective campus organizations to student
feedback and advice on the issue.
Senior Mike Del Grosso, a Political Science/Finance double major
and member of a fraternity, represented what he called the "everyday
Joe" perspective on the issue. He suggested that Juicy
Campus was the manifestation of a deeper-running problem of
disrespect in the campus community. He acknowledged that an
online forum of similar nature but with some regulation and/or
guidelines in place could serve the university community well
as an open space for constructively sharing ideas and perspectives.
Following the panelists' comments, the floor was opened up for
students to pose questions to the panelists or share their own
comments. Questions and comments covered the range from legal
to emotional dimensions of the Juicy Campus issue.
The legality of censoring or banning the Juicy Campus site was
discussed as a knee-jerk reaction to the problem and in the
end deemed a short-term solution. The fact is that even private
universities in the state of California must uphold free speech
rights, and so any attempt to block Juicy Campus from student
access would be impossible legally speaking. Indeed, students
generally agreed that route would be neither the most effective
nor desirable in any case. Multiple students, like Del Grosso,
spoke of Juicy Campus as simply the latest symptom of a more
fundamental problem of disrespect running through campus. A
positive aspect of Juicy Campus has been its bringing this deeper
problem to light so that we as a community can address it honestly
and openly.
One student spoke earnestly about the apparently hurtful effects
of Juicy Campus postings: people should have the confidence
and self-esteem to ignore these comments. In reaction to this
hard-knock approach it was acknowledged that while this may
be a good ideal for us to hold, we must also recognize the fact
that realistically there will be people hurt by Juicy Campus,
and perhaps even in ways extending beyond just a bruised ego
- it is possible that these comments could hurt one's reputation.
We should take it upon ourselves to not just individually refrain
from harmful negative anonymous blogging, but also work for
creating a campus environment in which people empathize and
stand up for those who are indeed hurt.
Overall, a focus on the importance of cultivating a positive
response to the deeper problem revealed by Juicy Campus permeated
the discussion. Talk of ways in which respect can be emphasized
as a key value in the university community and open, honest,
and sympathetic discussions of campus issues can be animated
demonstrated hope that the issue of negative anonymous online
blogging can be addressed by students, positively and in a thoughtful
manner.
Noelle Lopez is an SCU senior and 2008-09
Hackworth Fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
She was the moderator of this discussion.
November 2008
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