Welcome to Georgetown. We are confident that your first days on the Hilltop will introduce you to our dynamic, varied and engaged community, and will inspire you to consider the ways in which you will connect and contribute to this community during your years at Georgetown. As you prepare to join us in August, we want to offer a few words about the use of online communities.
Online communities like Facebook and MySpace have helped students at Georgetown and other colleges and universities connect in many positive ways. Through these online communities, students have met other students with similar interests, formed groups to explore and celebrate specific interests, and transformed the ways that we communicate with each other. And we realize how important these communities may be during your undergraduate years.
At the same time, there are some cautionary lessons that have emerged from participating in online communities. We advise you to use discretion when posting personal information on the World Wide Web. As a result, students should be aware of the following:
- You are posting content onto the World Wide Web and you cannot ensure who does and does not have access to your information.
- Information you post online may continue to stay on the World Wide Web even after you erase or delete that information from your profiles or blog.
- Future employers, graduate schools, and campus organizations may use information gathered from online communities as they are making decisions.
- Anyone with an "@georgetown.edu" email address may gain access to the Georgetown University Facebook.com community, including individual student profiles, photos and groups.
- By agreeing to the terms of use, online communities have your permission to republish your content worldwide and share information with advertisers, third parties, and law enforcement, among others.
Your profile will be a part of how others know you -- please keep that in mind as you use Facebook, MySpace and other online communities.
