Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

What#039;s Your Point?

i”If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought, not free thought for those who agree with us, but freedom for the thought that we hate.” – Former Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes/i

If college students hate anything more than gossip, it’s each other. So on campus, gossip lives. More accurately, it is ubiquitous. Since last March, JuicyCampus.com has given Emerson students a way to slander, backstab and (rarely) compliment their peers. Anonymously. As if we needed the help.

We got Emersonians’ take, asking whether Emerson should block access to JuicyCampus on our computers and servers. Respondents were in agreement on two fronts.

First: the website should not be shut down. Our respondents believe that impeding access would violate free speech.

Second: the Web site is deplorable and cruel. But really, would anyone have the nerve to defend JuicyCampus? Maybe if they could respond anonymously-just like on the website in question.

“I feel that students should have the moral aptitude to see how horrible this is, to see it as the Devil’s spawn.” i- Kimya Kavehkar, print journalism, freshman/i

“Hell no. I don’t want them to restrict anything.” i- John Moore, writing, literature and publishing, freshman/i

“I don’t know. I wanna say yes, but at the same time, I think it’s good for people who want to see what Emerson’s like. But it could work the other way. People could see how harsh the students are.” i- Stefany Tomas, broadcast journalism, freshman/i

“No. I hate the Web site, and it started out really big, but it’s kind of fizzled down since. People realized it’s just a bunch of crap.” i- Miriam Rodrigeuz, musical theatre, freshman/i

“If Emerson could stop it, I think they should. But we should just suck it up and forget about it. We don’t need to cry about this; we’ve all been out of middle school for a while.” i- Jamie Reysen, print journalism, freshman/i

“I think JuicyCampus is almost purely negative. I don’t know if it’s something Emerson should do or if students should have the maturity to do themselves.” i- Landry Allbright, B.F.A. acting, freshman

“It’s someone’s own privacy. They should do what they want. People are cowards if they don’t want to say it in person.” i- Katherine Farino, media arts, freshman/i

“I think it’s just a college campus, and that interfering would mess with the whole freedom of speech thing. There’s the matter of anonymity. That’s why people use it.” i- Kerry Brookes, film production, freshman/i

“If it was blocked at other campuses, I wouldn’t have a problem [if it was blocked], but that’s because I don’t use it.” i- John Keane, political communication and marketing, sophomore/i

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