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LOGAN — Utah State University officials are looking into potentially illegal activities, including an alleged rape, after students posted comments about the activities on a Facebook page unaffiliated with the school.
The Facebook page, titled "Utah State University Confessions," allows students to anonymously submit postings about actions they may not otherwise want to divulge. Some are humorous or merely juvenile, but others have a "raunch factor" or include libelous material or allusions to sexual harassment, according to USU spokesman Tim Vitale.
Vitale said the university is first concerned with the safety of its students, and about anything illegal that may be occurring.
"We're also concerned in the larger sense about the negative impact it has on our students. The site does not reflect the characteristics of the Utah State University experience, so that worries us," he said. "But that's also people's individual right to post whatever they want, as long as it falls within the letter of the law."
The problem for the university is that some of the posts — and perhaps even the page itself — do not seem to fall within the letter of the law. First Amendment rights do not cover libelous or illegal material or criminal activity, Vitale said.
That includes a Wednesday post that alluded to the alleged gang rape of a female student.
"When people post details about what could potentially be considered a gang rape, that concerns us. Or if someone posts something potentially libelous with names named — that somone is a drunkard on Friday nights with a name named — that concerns us, especially given the fact that they have our name attached to their site," Vitale said.
The university is looking carefully at whether the content of the site justifies contacting Facebook to request the page's removal, or further legal action. Since Utah State University is a registered trademark, the university has to determine whether the trademark is being violated and how severe the consequences are.
- The safety of students
- Impact on student experience/university reputation
- The use of a trademarked name
- The potential effect on the university of possibly libelous or illegal material posted on a site sharing its name
"We have to decide whether libelous material printed on a site with our name on it affects us, or is it the administrator of the site liable for legal actions that follow? Or is it the people who post themselves?" Vitale said. "So it does bring up the larger question of how social media works, and it's something we haven't had to deal with in the past."
Vitale said the university is currently unaware of the identity of the page's administrator, but would like to speak with the person to determine what, if any, moderation is taking place, and what the goal of the page is.
As of Monday, Vitale was unsure of which course the university would take.
"We have a legal responsibility and a genuine safety concern, and we had to pursue that one for sure," he said. "It's their right and it's their page, but we're definitely looking at the trademark component, and the police are looking into the potential rape."
In Utah, at least the University of Utah and Brigham Young, Utah Valley and Weber State universities appear to have "confession" Facebook pages unaffiliated with the universities. Vitale pointed out the other pages appear to be neither as popular nor as potentially concerning to university officials as the USU page is.
Video contribution: Mike Anderson
