Memories of stomach-turning middle school gossip are being relived on campuses across the country, all because of aWeb site created in August 2007.
Juicycampus.com allows students to anonymously post their thoughts on everything from places to find the skankiest girls or sexual relationships between professors and students (both of which are currently UT posts).
Juicy grew from 63 campuses to more than 500 campuses in just over a month, according to the site, which was started by Duke graduate student Matt Ivester.
Although most UT students have not jumped on the Juicy bandwagon just yet, other college students have already made it a staple of their daily online routines.
Juicy has a “simple mission of enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses,” its website states.
However the site has taken off as a hot spot for gossip, hateful speech, and degrading topics. Popular topics include: fellow students’ sexual orientations, promiscuity, hottest/ugliest girls and coolest frats.
The site has even been referred to as a virtual bathroom stall, a place to share all the things people would never say to someone’s face.
Students can reply to a topic with their own thoughts, or even just vote by clicking ‘agree’ or ‘disagree.’ With one click of a mouse, that gossip just got ‘jucier’.
Some of these discussions include full names and even cell phone and room numbers. However, in some case, personal information can be removed at a person’s request.
“Its sad for the people who spend all of their time on a site like this,” said senior Michelle Finley. “It’s like they don’t have anything better to do with their time.”
According to the Chronicle for Higher Education, two students were arrested after making “anonymous” threats on the site.
Both involved plots to shoot other students on campus, but Police were able to uncover the student’s identities by obtaining their IP addresses.
So everything students do on the site can potentially be traced.
As for now, free speech laws are keeping Juicy Campus from being shut down or charged for any offenses. However, since online bullying has become a bigger topic in recent months, backlash could be on the horizon.
Numerous campuses are outraged at the juvenile nature of the site and have begun to take action. Some spam the site, posting Wikipedia articles, poetry, Biblical passages and other lengthy posts that have nothing to with the site’s purpose. The goal is to overload and shut down the page, or at least make it harder to navigate.
While some students enjoy posting and even more enjoy reading the site, others are nervous about what they say is its dangerous potential.
Feelin’ Juicy: Gossip Website Spreads Influence to UT Campus
Published: Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Updated: Wednesday, November 12, 2008
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