While the rest of the world has been experiencing one disaster after another, the threats to our small community have just gotten more personal, more serious and more alarming.

Though we are thankful we haven’t experienced another weather disaster like Katrina or environmental disaster like the Deep Horizon Oil Spill and are hopeful about our future budget cuts, Nicholls internal student affairs have taken a turn for the worse.

Cyberbullying, though there are questions on how that term should be defined, has come to an all-time high at Nicholls. With the rise of Facebook and Myspace, it’s no wonder that people who used to put themselves at great risk by stalking through the bushes where anyone could see them are finding it easier to stalk, harass and threaten people.

When you use the Internet, you hide behind a computer. Other users only know what you tell them. If they want to know more, they have to use invasive measures, that most people don’t have ready access to and can be illegal, to discover what IP address was used and where that specific computer is located. Even then, you can only identify the computer and not the person who used it.

There are two sides to the dangers of social networking. One is that every piece of yourself that you put out there will stay there, possibly forever. The other is that every other person who uses the Internet now knows who and where you are. It just takes a few clicks, and a person’s entire history can be laid out.

Take a look around the room and pick out a person at random. Type in that person’s name into a search engine. What did you find? You probably just discovered things about that person that they did not even know where available online—a blog they created when they were in their teens about their childhood fears; a complete contact list for that person, including cell-phone numbers, addresses and emergency contacts that a Web site they participated in released without their knowledge; maybe even their social security number.

But now that you know where to find all of this information, just imagine who else knows how. These days, that is at least most people under 30.

Blocking people and hiding information does not help. There are ways around those security features, and people determined enough already know how. If they don’t, then they can Google search for the information. We promise that it’s out there. As a precaution, users should only friend people they know. Any profile can be a fake.

We often raise objections against countries that censor their citizens’ Internet access, but when it comes to our own students using the Internet to create aliases to play cruel pranks, threaten people, harass people or slander names, we have to admit that there are probably very good reasons the Internet can be censored.

The rule of thumb Nicholls students need to remember is this: If you won’t say it to someone’s face, don’t hide behind your computer to say it.

If you or someone you know has been affected by cyberbullying, harassment or threats, contact Eugene Dial, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, at (985) 448-4022, the Women’s Resource and Services Office at (985) 448-4470, University Police at (985) 448-4746 or the Counseling Center at (985) 448-4080.