The Communique

Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Chase Becicka Attorney C.L. Lindsay talks with students in the Class Act on Nov. 6. Lindsay warned students about the dangers of social networks like MySpace and Facebook and how what they do online may come back to haunt them. Lindsay offers free legal help to college students.

The online generation is turning to social networking Web sites more and more as a gathering place for friends to discuss topics of interest, share photos and talk about weekend activities.

However, online social networks such as MySpace and Facebook are also causing problems for many students throughout the country. The eagerness of students to post party exploits and images of illegal activities are giving universities, law enforcement and employers a new way to pry into and punish students for engaging in questionable activities.

Attorney C.L. Lindsay spoke to Kirkwood Community College students on Nov. 6 about how to protect themselves from mistakes many make online. Lindsay, founder of Coalition for Student and Academic Rights (CO-STAR), an organization that offers college students free legal assistance, spoke primarily about students' willingness to engage in behavior online that they would not engage in offline.

He covered topics such as music and movie downloading and the growing problem of social networks.

"If its against the rules offline, its against the rules online," Lindsey said. That message was the focal point of Lindsey's presentation, along with the idea that dealing with the college and dealing with the government are completely different and the rights that protect you do not have the same standing when in front of a college disciplinary panel.

Lindsey emphasized with the growing influence of social networking sites in the lives of students, the need to know how to stay protected is important. Lindsay gave the advice in the box below to KCC students about how to stay safe online.

If students are facing legal trouble Lindsey encouraged them to contact CO-STAR at www.co-star.org.

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