JuicyCampus' creator has stated that the site is a blank slate and that students can make of it what they will. This is true, and a few Princeton students have seen fit to make the site into something heinous filled with disparaging and often homophobic, sexist, racist and voyeuristic comments about other students. Though it would be easy to condemn and ignore JuicyCampus, doing so would be a missed opportunity. For all its negatives, JuicyCampus presents Princeton students with a chance to identify the social ills of this campus and address them rather than sweeping them under the rug. For example, the site has exposed the seedy underbelly and cruel realities of the bicker process and its aftermath and has shed light on campus social stratification.
The University community should harness JuicyCampus and use it as a tool for self-introspection and the basis for a community-wide discussion. The USG and the administration should set up forums in which students can voice their concerns about campus life, as has been done with the Alcohol Coalition Committee meetings. In addition, the USG should use this opportunity to re-evaluate policies and programs so that they better address the many issues revealed by JuicyCampus. We have noted in the past that one gap in the USG's performance over the last year has been its slow progress in finding effective means of improving social inclusiveness on campus. The comments posted on JuicyCampus underscore the urgency of a more rapid and vigorous effort to address this issue. Finally, students can show their maturity by turning JuicyCampus into a forum that does not disparage other people but rather provides for constructive discussion of campus issues and events. Students who post on JuicyCampus may feel aggrieved by things that happen on campus, but that cannot be an excuse for them to express themselves in ways intended to hurt others.
JuicyCampus and similar sites sure to follow pose a challenge to our community. It is up to the students to decide whether such sites become negative purveyors of salacious gossip or forces for positive campus change.
Related point-counterpoint: "Should we ban access to JuicyCampus' URL at Princeton?"
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