For many, Facebook is a tool to connect people with friends and family. However, it has also been utilized as networking for students and faculty members.
At IU Southeast, professors and students can connect on Facebook in order to keep in touch.
Kathy Meyer, orientation and leadership coordinator, said she is friends with many student leaders.
“For one, I think that it kind of brings down barriers and makes people more accessible,” Meyer said. “The second thing is now you have students easily communicating with faculty members.”
Meyer has had a Facebook account for more than a year and said it makes professors appear more sociable to students.
However, Meyer also said she believes there should be limits in professors accepting student friend requests on Facebook.
“My purpose for using Facebook and for friending students is merely to get event information out and get student leaders organized,” Meyer said. “It’s not really to invite you out to lunch or to spy on what it is you are doing. I very rarely go to a student’s Facebook page.”
Meyer said some communication is better handled through a more professional realm.
“Using a social network to handle disagreements or a conflict that might arise between a professor and a student, I don’t think that would be appropriate to hash out via Facebook,” Meyer said.
Jean Abshire, associate professor of political science and international studies, also has limits on who she accepts to be a friend.
“I am friends with students after they have graduated, but not while they are currently enrolled because I think that there’s at least potential for perceptions of bias,” Abshire said.
Abshire also said she thinks Facebook is not appropriate for the types of relationships that exist between faculty and students.
“My job involves being friendly to students, but I am not students’ friends,” Abshire said. “There have to be, need to be, professional boundaries between faculty and students. That’s the nature of the relationship, and I do think it’s important that they be maintained.”
Although Abshire said she does not accept current student friend requests, she has started several groups related to the political science and international studies major for students.
“It’s a place where they can post questions not specifically related to class but just relating to issues the major is interested in,” Abshire said. “We’re also using it for announcing scholarships and events.”
Not only do professors use Facebook, but student groups have created pages for their organizations.
Julie Bland, political science senior, is the IUS Civil Liberties Union president and said they use Facebook to post information.
“With me, whenever people invite me to things on Facebook, it shows up on my phone, and it will give me all sorts of alerts to tell me when to go,” Bland said.
Some of the items they post include their forum, as well as monthly meetings.
“Someone might see a flier, and they might not hear about it again, whereas with Facebook you can continually keep members involved and engaged,” Bland said.
Another student organization on Facebook is the Gay Straight Alliance. Bethany Strunk, radiology technician junior, is president of the group and posted events, such as the Drag Show.
“We all have friends on Facebook, so it’s easier to just send a mass Facebook invite,” Strunk said. “I think it helps a lot because a lot of people don’t read the fliers, but they’ll read Facebook invites.”
Bland and Strunk are also friends with faculty members on Facebook.
“I think it’s good to get to know your professor,” Strunk said. “It makes you more comfortable to ask them questions.”
Bland said, overall, Facebook helps students and professors connect. However, she also said she believes students need to be aware of certain things they post.
“You got to be very careful as far as between what should be personal and what should be public knowledge,” Bland said. “I can tell some of them just aren’t thinking when they put things up. Be careful with Facebook.”
By CLAIRE MUNN
Staff Writer
clamunn@umail.iu.edu