Spring Break
Controversial Websites Not New to Campus
Daniel Jacobs
Issue date: 11/19/08 Section: News
Juicy Campus is not the only online forum to generate controversy at Rhodes. In 2001 a heated racial argument broke out on a Rhodes message board and caused tension on campus. This incident offers some similarities, but also a number of contrasts, to how the Rhodes community has handled the Juicy Campus website.
In the early 2000s the college had an online bulletin board, named Rhodes Connect, which was similar to a blog. The board was run through the campus network and postings on it were not anonymous.
Bob Johnson, who is currently the Vice-President for Student and Information Services but in 2001 held the position of Dean of Information Services and Chief Information Officer, described the incident:
"It was a couple mobs, going after each other on the bulletin board, and it involved racial epithets and threats, not very vague ones," said Johnson. "There was a whole lot of behavior that, outside of the conduct codes, was still just not particularly valuable to the community and was starting to tear it up pretty badly. And what I really needed was students to step up and put an end to it."
Johnson ultimately made the decision to delete the thread off the board.
"What it did was two things," said Johnson. "It immediately stopped the fight, and caused students to start saying I censored free speech on campus."
The lack of student action in 2001 contrasts to the recent reaction of RSG and other students to the Juicy Campus website. RSG senators have sent out a letter to other student leaders condemning the site, and another senator, Juliana Lynch, along with Matt Tamason, a sophomore, created a message board in the Middle Ground for people to sign and show their support for "honesty and integrity" in the Rhodes community.
"At the time there wasn't any outpouring of concern or care from students for students," said Johnson of the incident in 2001. "It was just sort of a free for all, a brawl. As this issue was starting up with Juicy Campus I started to wonder, would this just be one-sided? And I can't even tell you how happy I was to see students not addressing this as a breach of codes of conduct, but more of, 'This is a breach of our community, this is the type of behavior we don't stand for.'"
In the early 2000s the college had an online bulletin board, named Rhodes Connect, which was similar to a blog. The board was run through the campus network and postings on it were not anonymous.
Bob Johnson, who is currently the Vice-President for Student and Information Services but in 2001 held the position of Dean of Information Services and Chief Information Officer, described the incident:
"It was a couple mobs, going after each other on the bulletin board, and it involved racial epithets and threats, not very vague ones," said Johnson. "There was a whole lot of behavior that, outside of the conduct codes, was still just not particularly valuable to the community and was starting to tear it up pretty badly. And what I really needed was students to step up and put an end to it."
Johnson ultimately made the decision to delete the thread off the board.
"What it did was two things," said Johnson. "It immediately stopped the fight, and caused students to start saying I censored free speech on campus."
The lack of student action in 2001 contrasts to the recent reaction of RSG and other students to the Juicy Campus website. RSG senators have sent out a letter to other student leaders condemning the site, and another senator, Juliana Lynch, along with Matt Tamason, a sophomore, created a message board in the Middle Ground for people to sign and show their support for "honesty and integrity" in the Rhodes community.
"At the time there wasn't any outpouring of concern or care from students for students," said Johnson of the incident in 2001. "It was just sort of a free for all, a brawl. As this issue was starting up with Juicy Campus I started to wonder, would this just be one-sided? And I can't even tell you how happy I was to see students not addressing this as a breach of codes of conduct, but more of, 'This is a breach of our community, this is the type of behavior we don't stand for.'"
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