ITHACA, N.Y. — Speaking before more than 300 Ithaca College students Monday night, most of them student-athletes, Janet Judge, Esq. cautioned these students to exercise care when posting to social media.
While nearly all of the students in Ford Hall claimed to know of the potential pitfalls associated with a vicious or scandalous Facebook post, tweet or Instagram photo, few of those in the audience were aware that the Library of Congress has a detailed record of every tweet ever recorded since Twitter originated in 2006.
Furthermore, the students operated under the impression that their Snapchat images and conversations disappeared shortly after being sent, but Judge quickly dispelled that myth, stating that Snapchat photos maintain a permanence and can be viewed even after they are deleted.
With the long-lasting impact that a single post to a social media account can have, knowing how to avoid potentially negative consequences is even more important in maintaining the reputation of student-athletes.
"I want them to think about the consequences," said Judge, a former assistant athletic director at Harvard University who has spoken at more than 500 colleges during her career.
"These students are at a time in their life where everything is so immediate. If they walk away (from this event) and pause before they post something, or if they talk with each other before then engage in a particular behavior, then I've really done my job. When I started out tonight I was talking about risk management and that's what it's really about. If they are able to engage in discussions about risk and risk management then we've done what we set out to do."
In her presentation, Judge used real-life examples to discuss the lasting implications associated with posting on social media, as well as the underlying behaviors students and college athletes share online. Judge's cautionary tales resonated with the audience.
"Having all student-athletes sit in on that presentation is going to eliminate some of those problems associated with social media," said Indiana Jones, a sophomore member of the women's golf team.
"It was eye-opening to hear all of the dangers associated with social media. When she said that Snapchat pictures don't disappear, you could hear a pin drop around me. Everyone had the same reaction: they didn't think that could happen, but it was a learning moment. I think the students got a lot out of her presentation. You have to be very careful about what you put out there and think twice before you post."
The event, titled
Social Media and the Student-Athlete, was sponsored by Ithaca College Athletics. Tuesday morning, Judge addressed Ithaca's coaches and athletic administrators on many of the same topics.
Judge, who serves as president of Sports law Associates LLC., has decades of experience with a broad range of legal issues. She is a well-known advisor to numerous colleges and universities on a variety of sport-related issues, including strategic program development, NCAA eligibility, infractions and clarification, EADA compliance, contracts, pay equity, Title IX, harassment, hazing, academic fraud and student-athlete misconduct.
While Judge stressed the importance of not posting any offensive or inflammatory content to social media, she also doesn't want students to lose their personalities and voices due to concerns over what is and what isn't appropriate.
"Students should get their voice and their message out there on social media," Judge said. "But I don't want them having the super-scrubbed persona on social media, because that's not great either. They should have their personalities come through because these are amazingly talented, smart student-athletes."
