How to use technology to our advantage, rather than disadvantage, was the focus of a Nov. 30 Caring Community Forum in the Biotechnology Building, which almost two dozen Cornell staff members and students attended.

"Things that were once written in diaries ... are now spread out for the world to see," said Tracy Mitrano, J.D. '95, director of IT policy at Cornell. Mitrano emphasized "freedom with responsibility," and said that we must respect the reach of technology and take responsibility for our actions to remain a trusting, inclusive community.

Text messaging, Facebook, and CollegeACB, a website for open anonymous campus gossip forums, have both dehumanizing and empowering aspects, said Chauncey Jenkins '11, vice president of the LINK: Men's Alliance, an organization for minority men at Cornell.

"People feel empowered to say offensive things you wouldn't normally say in everyday communication," he said. Using CollegeACB anonymously offers a comforting outlet to voice opinions, but that outlet is abused when students use the forum to slander another's name.

However, prohibiting such websites as CollegeACB would only entice the creation of an equivalent venue, said Andrew Brokman '11, an at-large representative of the Student Assembly. The solution is not a new rule that threatens First Amendment rights, but students' self-governance not to engage in discriminatory or other offensive activities, he said.

The Student Assembly became involved with CollegeACB after recent anti-Semitic comments. Brokman proposed a boycott of the forum as a means of resolution.

Scott Grantz of the Office of the Judicial Administrator emphasized that when dealing with cyber harassment and bullying, students should never feel that there is a void of administrative help. He recommended bringing complaints first to the Cornell Police because of their extensive investigative resources.

However, students who experience or witness an injustice can begin by notifying anyone in the administration, he noted. Once incidents are brought to the judicial administrator's attention, complaints go through a system of checks and balances to protect the case's integrity, he said. He noted that if a complainant is dissatisfied with a case's outcome, he or she is eligible to appeal. "It is a system that tries to get it right at every stage," he said.

As far as the role of technology in civil disputes, "the conduct is still harassment, the text messaging is just the medium used for harassment," he said.

The forum was hosted by the Dean of Students and Cornell Information Technologies. Additional forums will be scheduled next semester to further discuss community resolutions to promote a safe and civil campus community.

Caitlin Parker '13 is a writer for the Cornell Chronicle.