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GHC gets Facebook

By Whitney Anderson
[email protected]
Staff Writer

Jennifer Smith, a dental hygiene major from Ellijay, Ga., scans through the profiles on Facebook.com in between classes. Georgia Highlands has finally become a part of the online community known as Facebook.

This online directory is an easy way for college students to meet other college students across Georgia and even the world. Since the birth of Facebook in February 2004, more than 9.4 million students have signed up.

Unlike other websites such as Myspace and Livejournal, Facebook is solely for college students and faculty.

It has features that allow students to post hilarious pictures of themselves and their friends, start and join different groups, and even rekindle old high school flames lost at graduation.

Alicia Dodd, a nursing major said, �I like Facebook.com. It�s a great way to meet others within the school, and I can also keep in contact with people I graduated with. I like the fact that only college students can use it. I don�t have to worry about weirdos talking to me.�

Jared Hughes, an education major, likes using Facebook. He said, �It lets me keep in touch with the faces of the past and hopefully, I will meet some new ones for the future.�

Facebook.com allows students to meet others through common interest or even sheer boredom.

By simply keyboarding in their classes, students can meet other classmates by using the search tool. By using the global tool, students can also find old friends they lost touch with years ago. Facebook.com also allows users to send messages among each other.

Patrick Maxedon, an education major, said, �Since I am on the computer a lot more than I am the phone, it�s easier to keep in touch with friends, and I don�t waste my phone minutes this way.�

Facebook.com isn�t just for the college student. College professors can also create accounts and use the site as a bulletin board for online classes and groups.


Although there are many positive features to Facebook, there are still many risks students take when signing up.

By posting personal information such as phone numbers and home addresses, students can become victims of online stalking, sexual harassment and sometimes even assault.

Another disadvantage is the posting of embarrassing pictures that might be viewed by potential employers.

John Spranza, director of student life, said, �Many future employers have quickly become hip to Facebook and have used the site to prescreen applicants.�

To avoid such conflict, the users are allowed to set privacy settings so that only friends can see their profile and their contact info. The user can also block any information viewed when being searched by other users.

Georgia Highlands was officially added to Facebook.com back in December 2005.

Since that time, over 500 students have signed up, logged on and become more a part of the student life at Georgia Highlands.