JuicyCampus, the controversial site that lets students post totally anonymous (and often malicious) comments about their college classmates, has launched a new version of its site and opened support to over 185 new campuses, with 500 expected by the end of the month. JuicyCampus is essentially a public, anonymous bulletin board that encourages users to gossip about eachother, often referring to their targets by their full names.
The site’s founder, Matt Ivester, continues to portray JuicyCampus in a positive light, explaining that he’s intent on “Making juicy campus a place where students can discus the topics that matter to them most in a manner they deem appropriate”.
In the past, Ivester has also written blog posts asking users to play nice:
“Some of the things that have been posted have been mean-spirited, and we have received emails from people claiming to have been defamed on the site,” and adds “We want you to make JuicyCampus Juicy, not hateful.”
Unfortunately, most students choose to degrade their peers, oftentimes with disparaging remarks that are impossible to counter against because of the site’s anonymity. Ivester likes to act like hurtful gossip isn’t the sole purpose for the site’s existence, but with today’s press release listing such topics as “Cheaters”, “Biggest Stoner”, and “In The Closet”, it’s clear that the site is by no means benevolent – Ivester isn’t fooling anyone. The site may not be breaking any laws, but it shouldn’t be misrepresenting itself, either.
JuicyCampus seems like a prime target for lawsuits from upset students and parents, but Ivester says the company has yet to be sued for the site’s negative content. However, he does acknowledge that it is currently under investigation by Attorneys General in New Jersey and Connecticut (he refused to comment on the cases, but said that the site’s expansion was indicative of his view on their eventual outcomes).