Police caution students on Net safety

“I will never understand why some people would post so much information on the Internet about themselves,” said Willie Fuller, university police chief.

Referring to Facebook.com and Myspace.com Web sites, Fuller said these sites are not only dangerous but also could be life-threatening.

“It is sad that it takes a tragedy like what happened to Taylor Behl to make people concerned about being safe on the Internet,” he said.

In the past, Fuller said, VCU would talk about being safe on the Internet only to first-year students at orientation, but now the police plan to work with the Student Government Association on both campuses as well as the Division of Student Affairs to develop guidelines on student Internet usage.

Previously, the university had no guidelines in place for students other than file-sharing guidelines.

Sonia Banks, director for VCU’s center for psychological services and development, said part of the problem exists because people often think they are safe when writing on the Internet.

“They may feel safe because of their anonymity,” she said.

Melanie Middleton, a junior fashion-design major, said the situation that happened with Behl reinforces the need for people to be aware of their surroundings at all times on or off the Internet.

“It is unfortunate what happened with Behl, but it isn’t a representation of VCU,” she said. As a precaution, Middleton said she consistently makes sure she doesn’t post anything on the Internet that would permit someone to track her down.

Fuller, however, said it’s easy to track down people who post information on the Internet, especially when they list their names, telephone numbers and class schedules.

“VCU police often use the Internet to solve cases,” he said.

For instance, he said last year, university police tracked down a group of students who had been stealing items from the Shafer Court Dining Facility. Those students started a group titled “Shafer Thieves” on Facebook.com. The police learned the students’ names and charged all the parties involved because of the information they had posted online.

“How do these students think they can get away with something if they are posting it all online?” he asked.

Although the Shafer Thieves didn’t think they would be caught, Facebook.com and Myspace.com allow students to post their names, addresses, phone numbers and class schedules as well as their interests. Students also can list their friends on the Web sites.

“Since having no system to hold them accountable,” Banks said, “they can explore parts of themselves feeling like there are limited consequences.”