Nov. 20, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
UM newspaper defends controversial article
A campus paper at the University of Miami came under fire after publishing photos posted by a student on a popular website.
BY NOAH BIERMAN
nbierman@herald.com
The headline in The Miami Hurricane student newspaper screamed in large yellow type: 'CAUGHT ON FACEBOOK: `I'm a drunk idiot and went swimming in Lake Osceola.' ''
Curious students and faculty at the University of Miami snatched most of 10,000 copies of the Nov. 11 edition within hours. It had all the elements of a zesty yarn -- alcohol, photos of shirtless young men flexing and a campus investigation of a dip into a forbidden lake.
But it wasn't a case of snoopy reporters or paparazzi uncovering a secret party. The subjects of the story had outed themselves, posting details and photographs on a commercial website with their own label, ``I'm a drunk idiot and went swimming in Lake Osceola.''
Swimming is forbidden in Lake Osceola, in the center of campus, because two students have drowned there. The last case led to a costly lawsuit against a UM fraternity and a statewide anti-hazing law. More recently, an alligator was dragged out.
Many students -- and most of all, the subjects of the article -- were surprised that personal details posted on Facebook, the college-oriented website, could become part of the news. But the Hurricane story opened a window into how the rules and expectations of colleges' most popular online social clubs are still being defined.
On Facebook, students around the country form virtual communities by posting jokes, musings and photographs about themselves. Students, alumni and staff can view each others' information and communicate.
''Facebook will get you in trouble,'' said Teja Veal, a 21-year-old graphic design major who says the website is ``like an addiction.''
POPULAR SITE
Launched in February 2004, Facebook has quickly become one of the 10 most visited sites on the Internet, with 9.4 million visitors last month, according to company spokesman Chris Hughes.
It also has stirred up -- indirectly -- controversy elsewhere. In recent months, a resident assistant at North Carolina State caught nine students drinking in their dorm rooms after they posted on the site, Hughes said.
The Hurricane story was the first time Facebook led to a campus newspaper investigation, he said.
''Now there's this whole debate -- how far does Facebook go?'' said Joanna Davila, the Hurricane's arts and entertainment editor.
The reaction on campus was mixed. Some students laughed. Others equated the paper with a supermarket tabloid.
Facebook executives and the subjects of the article were irate. They said the photographs were used without permission.
Editors at the Hurricane say they were reporting a legitimate news story about campus safety and that the students' online boasts were a key part of that story.
The story began late on Nov. 5 after the Canes football team defeated Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Back home, some students were celebrating at the Rathskellar, a campus watering hole next to Lake Osceola.
Sophomore Jacquiline Coleman, 20, took some photos of three of her friends who had jumped in and jumped out of the lake during the celebration, she said. It's not clear which friends chose to post the photos and ''drunk idiot'' label on Facebook.
Hurricane editor-in-chief Patricia Mazzei, 20, said her staff learned about the Web posting just before the Wednesday publishing deadline. By then, others on campus had seen it as well and reported it to the administration, according to Pat Whitely, vice president for student affairs.
''We all thought it was newsworthy and someone had already reported it to the administration,'' Mazzei said. The students who went into the lake ``put their names out there.''
The photos showed three wet, shirtless men. All were of legal drinking age. They were not photographed in the lake, though the captions suggested they had been there.
One of the three students, Nicholas Gonzalez, said the website piece proved nothing, according to the paper.
''I don't know if I jumped in the lake,'' he was quoted as saying, apparently facetiously.
The students quickly removed their Web posting, but were worried publicity from the article would lead to disciplinary action by the university, including expulsion.
The university has since taken action, but Whitely, citing confidentiality rules, would not reveal the punishment. Neither would the students, two of whom were reached by The Herald. They were not expelled, though.
Gonzalez and fellow ''drunk idiot'' Leo Swayze claimed the Hurricane reporters distorted the incident by misunderstanding a joke and exaggerating how much the group had to drink.
''That story made the newspaper look like the National Enquirer,'' Swayze said.
Coleman, the photographer, was not disciplined, but she said her photos were used without permission.
WEBSITE RESPONDS
Facebook lawyers also wrote a letter to the paper, stating the photos were used without permission.
''Students posting information on Facebook shouldn't have to think about themselves being in the headlines the following day,'' said Hughes, the company spokesman.
School of Communication professor Sig Splichal, the newspaper's advisor, said the Hurricane is still assessing Facebook's letter, but stands by the contents of the story.
So does Mazzei. She said the photos had news value and her faculty advisors were consulted before publication.
Sam Terilli, another journalism professor and the former general counsel for The Herald, said the paper had the legal and journalistic right to use the website's photos in its story.
''You had a matter that was newsworthy, plain and simple,'' he said. ``If people are posting things on the Internet and thinking that's private, they're wrong.''
Hughes suggests students use the option to limit access to the information they post.
Since the incident, Gonzalez has put up a new posting on Facebook. It displays a photo of the Hurricane article and commentary tinged with a mixture of pride and regret.
''Yep, I went in the lake,'' it reads. ``That's me on the front cover of the stupid paper.''
Re: now, Tommy, don't worry
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