Last Monday night, I went to The Criterion meeting and I found out that there was a group on Facebook called, and I kid you not, “Colorado Mesa University Confessions.” I had never heard of this group before and didn’t even know it existed before then. Intrigued by the idea of the group name, I took on this article just so I could have an excuse to see what the group was like and what kind of things I would find on it.
Right after I got back to my dorm, I instantly whipped out my phone to check Facebook. I scrolled through my Facebook feed like I usually do and then out of sheer curiosity, I went to the search bar. Now, I’m not really one for stalking people on social media, but in this case, the search bar was a very handy tool. Just as I figured it would, the group came to the top of the list. I clicked on the name and first viewed the profile and cover photo pictures. I must say, they do look somewhat professional. I thought to myself, “It really can’t be that bad.”
I scrolled down to the Community block and I will admit, some of my friends liked this page. Again I thought, “It really can’t be that bad, I mean some of my friends like it.” *Add in shoulder shrug here.*
Following the community block, was photos by Colorado Mesa University. The first picture is “three different kinds of exam takers” with Hermione, Ron and Harry. Okay, who doesn’t like memes from Harry Potter?
The next one, a picture of Prince. Again, not a bad thing?
After that, a picture of Einstein licking a pie. That’s somewhat educational right? I mean it links Einstein to Pi Day somewhat? Okay, if you think it was bad up until this point, I’m sorry but there’s more.
The next photo was a movie or television show clip (I’m guessing on this one, I really don’t know), with the caption: “‘Fat bitches need love too, Craig.’ ‘For sure.’” First red flag. I’m not even going to continue with describing the rest of the pictures. Let’s just say, it escalates really quickly. Alright, exit out of that.
Alright, exit out of that.
Now to see all of the posts. Right off the bat there were inappropriate things that were said in the group. A couple example posts include, “So much for sluts. I haven’t received any sexual favors since I got here. Get your sh*t together people.” and “Rolled my first joint… EVA! You rock CMU!!! Go Mav’s.”
Who does this? I know you can’t see who posted it, but you can definitely see who liked a post, reacted to it and even commented on it. I’m also pretty sure there are ways to figure out who posted on the group as well, but I’m just not the best with technology.
When scrolling through your Facebook feed, you can see what your friends have liked, reacted to, commented on and posted. This is a very common feature that Facebook has provided its users.
So, would you want your Facebook friends (I’m primarily talking about your grandparents, aunts and uncles, mom and dad and any other family members) to see that you liked that post or that you said that in a group? I know I wouldn’t. And the fact that future employers can see these things also concerns me. Anything that you post on the web can be viewed by the public. As an employer, I wouldn’t want to hire someone who praised rolling a joint on Facebook.
Not only will this possibly affect certain individuals in the future, but it misrepresents the university. Granted, this is college and students do find ways to drugs, alcohol and other things. But, that’s not what CMU is about. This isn’t a party school. So why make it out to be that way? Instead of posting about those sort of things, why don’t we post about what makes CMU, CMU?
