Facebook: More Danger than Fun?
Rough Draft
By: Hannah Hoffman
Facebook has taken over. It is a force to be reckoned with. Don’t mess with Facebook.
Facebook is defined simply as a global social networking site. But if you want to be completely truthful, “obsessive, life consuming, stalking central, can’t keep my self-away from it… computer program” is probably more accurate.
Created in 2006, the site was originally catered towards students with the purpose of sharing pictures and stories with one another. Many used Facebook to keep in contact with long-distance friends and family members.
But now, four years old, Facebook has become a love-hate relationship to many consumed in its trap. It can satisfy you one moment, but crush you the next. College freshman Sam Rudesill says that “Facebook is like a drug. You have to check it everyday, at least, and you find out some things that you rather wouldn’t know about.”
More recently, Facebook has been used by people of all ages. “My grandma even has a Facebook,” says sophomore Katie Minter. Facebook statistics state that there are over 400 million users and at least 50% of those users log on each day, spending 55 minutes on the site.
Facebook not only serves as a major distraction for high school and college students with the constant status updates, online quizzes, and infamous “Farmville,” but it can be used as a way to get political and community involvement, event publicity, and even job opportunities. There is, however, another side to the site. Facebook can be used as a dangerous tool to monitor the activity of other people who have an account.
Many throw around the term “Facebook stalking,” often used as a joke, where a girl or boy will look up someone’s pictures or information online simply out of social interest. Facebook even acknowledges the activity of “stalking” where they have an application entitled “Who stalks your profile?” that is supposed to produce names on who checks your profile. Even though the application has a satirical sense, its existence shows that there is continuing interest in the matter.
“I think it’s silly. Everyone really does it to look at people’s pictures. I just think that when people start rumors because of them, it has gone too far,” says Wittenberg student Anna Wyckstandt.
What many don’t realize is that this act of “Facebook stalking” can be taken even further and real stalking and identity theft can occur.
It is common for people to post statuses on their whereabouts. The website “pleaserobme.com” says the site’s purpose is “to offer their website to a professional foundation, agency or company that focuses on raising awareness, helping people understand and provide answers to online privacy related issues” and it is not to promote burglary. The site detects statuses that indicate the account holder is not home and then posts them on the “pleaserobme” site. It is meant to show how easy it is to find out who is home and who is not which could ultimately lead to a theft or burglary.
The dangers in Facebook are often overlooked and people are focused on the fun, friendly connections made and not the risk involved. Bryan Rutberg was a case in Seattle, Wash where his Facebook account was broken into. The hacker even persuaded his friends to wire money to a separate account. Rutberg is just one of many that have experienced problems with hacking. Not all result in faulty requests for money donations, but many try and spread viruses to the users’ other Facebook friends.
NEED CONCLUSION AND INTERVIEW WITH DR.SMITH!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Police Chief Sees Bettering Relationship
Police Chief Sees Bettering Relationship
By: Hannah Hoffman
Most college campus police chiefs are sticklers for the law- nothing gets by them. But Wittenberg Police Chief, Carl Loney, makes it a priority to get the message across campus that “it is not an us against them” type of relationship.
Nicknamed “the e-mail man” for his almost daily security and weather updates, Chief Loney has been in the police force since he was 18 years old and specifically been in the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for 30 years. Not only has he, personally, dedicated all of his adult life to the task force, but his father and grandfather were also very involved public servants.
It is because of his experience that Loney stresses that “not all education takes place in the classroom” and encourages learning from many different perspectives. In terms of Wittenberg’s culture, Loney says this is why he feels the college campus calls for a different approach in security and enforcement.
Although the Chief says “the laws are the laws and we all have to follow them,” he also thinks that “[the Wittenberg Police] have a different tolerance level than [the Springfield Police] when dealing with students.” An example, that he says is the most common, is underage drinking. Loney points out that there are not immediate arrests for underage drinking at Wittenberg, and many students go through the referral process first, before getting more severely punished. He also mentions the escort service where a student may be under the influence and underage, but an officer will drive the student home, no questions asked, to ensure safety first.
“We are more of a service provider than an enforcement agency.” Loney says that Wittenberg Police and Security have become more comfortable, friendly, and understanding of the student population and the activity they partake in, especially through the years that he has been chief.
Even though Loney puts himself on the side of the students, he makes it clear that Wittenberg Police and Security are on campus to provide order and protection. Crime rates have significantly decreased since he has become chief. He, however, gives himself little credit and says that it is the actual officers that respond to the “30 calls a night” they receive for the escort service.
“I firmly believe in taking care of our district…I personally have graffiti remover and go out and take care of it myself…I wouldn’t trade [this job] for the world.”
By: Hannah Hoffman
Most college campus police chiefs are sticklers for the law- nothing gets by them. But Wittenberg Police Chief, Carl Loney, makes it a priority to get the message across campus that “it is not an us against them” type of relationship.
Nicknamed “the e-mail man” for his almost daily security and weather updates, Chief Loney has been in the police force since he was 18 years old and specifically been in the Clark County Sheriff’s Office for 30 years. Not only has he, personally, dedicated all of his adult life to the task force, but his father and grandfather were also very involved public servants.
It is because of his experience that Loney stresses that “not all education takes place in the classroom” and encourages learning from many different perspectives. In terms of Wittenberg’s culture, Loney says this is why he feels the college campus calls for a different approach in security and enforcement.
Although the Chief says “the laws are the laws and we all have to follow them,” he also thinks that “[the Wittenberg Police] have a different tolerance level than [the Springfield Police] when dealing with students.” An example, that he says is the most common, is underage drinking. Loney points out that there are not immediate arrests for underage drinking at Wittenberg, and many students go through the referral process first, before getting more severely punished. He also mentions the escort service where a student may be under the influence and underage, but an officer will drive the student home, no questions asked, to ensure safety first.
“We are more of a service provider than an enforcement agency.” Loney says that Wittenberg Police and Security have become more comfortable, friendly, and understanding of the student population and the activity they partake in, especially through the years that he has been chief.
Even though Loney puts himself on the side of the students, he makes it clear that Wittenberg Police and Security are on campus to provide order and protection. Crime rates have significantly decreased since he has become chief. He, however, gives himself little credit and says that it is the actual officers that respond to the “30 calls a night” they receive for the escort service.
“I firmly believe in taking care of our district…I personally have graffiti remover and go out and take care of it myself…I wouldn’t trade [this job] for the world.”
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