“So…have you heard about that new site? I saw your friend up there yesterday. You know they had some pretty interesting things to say about…”

Does this conversation sound familiar? For anyone who’s heard of or been to www.juicycampus.com, it may sound quite recognizable.

Founded by Duke University alum, Matt Ivester, on Aug. 1, 2007, the site has gained nationwide popularity with the input of nearly 60 different colleges. The site describes itself as promoting “online anonymous free speech on college campuses” and has a separate section for each college. No account or email address is necessary to comment or post topics on the site, which makes it open to well…anybody. Because of this, the comments found on it are not always just “juicy” gossip; there are a number of posts that are very much hurtful and insulting.

Various universities have filed several complaints about the integrity of the site and several news outlets have reported such situations. Stations from CNN to ABC and large newspapers such as the Washington Post have seen the words JuicyCampus flow through their pages.

“Honestly, I highly dislike this website due to the fact that its main goal is to promote gossip and/or false information about individuals anonymously,” said junior visual arts and design major, Jelani Elom, who found his name on the site.

“At first I was a little upset but then once I realized that individuals took time out from their busy (or not busy) lives to gossip about me, it made me feel pretty good.”

Elom is just one of A&T students who found their name alongside offensive words and comments. Unfortunately, the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which protects the owner of the site and suggests that the person(s) posting the information are held accountable, protects the site; however, all postings are anonymous.

Several subpoenas have been filed against JuicyCampus. According to a report from CNN, “when you file a civil lawsuit against even an anonymous individual, a judge can issue a subpoena. JuicyCampus says it will respond to any ‘lawful subpoena’; a subpoena could reveal a poster’s IP address.”

As easy as this may sound, many legal implications must be encountered to get to that stage. Some might wonder, why bother? Its just gossip. Roger Weathers, a junior industrial engineering major from Charlotte believes that the site wasn’t credible from the start and anything up there is questionable. “People just take a lot of things to heart, if something was said about you then why are you getting so mad if you know its not true?” he asks.

“When you let it upset you, it might give people the notion that it really is true. My advice would just to be to not entertain gossip or feed into it…the more you feed into it the bigger it gets.”

Not necessarily accurate or encouraged speech, its free by the First Amendment nonetheless. In an attempt to get the site shut down, there is a global group on Facebook created by NCCU students, “A Petition to Shut Down JuicyCampus,” through which members are able to express their dislike for the site through wall posts and discussion.

• Stacie Bailey