EMU joins online community

When walking to class, eating in the cafeteria, or exercising in the Commons, students may be heard saying to one another, "Just face me." Don't be alarmed: it's not an invitation to fight. It's code for "look me up on facebook-dot-com."

On Sept. 9, Eastern Mennonite University was inducted into an internet community that has been around since Feb. 2004. In just two weeks, Facebook has become a phenomenon at EMU, with an estimated 200 EMU students having joined. While there was no public recognition of this achievement; an inner circle of friends, who prefer not to be named, rejoiced at their role in the induction.

Facebook is a network of hundreds of colleges and universities around the world, both private and public, that was created by Mark Zuckerberg. The site's two main goals are to bring together college students from around the world and to unite long lost friends. Facebook claims success in both regards, noting that Facebook members have "friends" from an average of 27 different schools around the world, and the average Facebook user finds at least five people they have not seen in a time span of four months to four or five years.

The website consists of a basic profile along with a place to search for and leave notes for others. Members can add friends to their profiles, join or create groups, announce parties, or use the mysterious "poking" feature. What makes this site different is that members can type in their high school and find everyone that graduated from that school and has a page on Facebook.

Facebook is not open to just anyone. Unlike most sites, one can't just create an account to be on Facebook. Instead, a whole school has to be registered and verified by filling out an extensive application. Registering a school requires a form that includes not only the name of the school and where it is located, but also figures such as the population of the school and detailed information on all majors and departments.

Some schools do not get accepted into the Facebook community the first time their application is submitted. Such was the case at EMU, where the paperwork for induction was resubmitted numerous times until on Sept. 9, a student received an e-mail that EMU had been accepted into Facebook.

Featured Facebook groups

Members of Facebook can join social organizations called "groups." The following are a few samples of the groups you can find on Facebook:

"People Who Use the Handicap Buttons When They Aren't Even Handicapped!"
Creator: Chris Yutzy
Members: 59 members + 60 groupies
Description: "You know those big heavy doors up at the Campus Center? Yeah well if you are lazy like me and push the handicap buttons to open them then you should join this group."

"Classes Are Ruining My College Experience"
Creator: Jessica Caroff
Members: 54 members
Description: "Why bother?"

"Mennonites Unleashed on Facebook"
Creator: Conrad Gross
Members: 36 members
Description: "We're eager and ferocious and they just opened the flood gates. College world beware, the Mennos are comin' and they're lookin' for blood!"

"I'm Not a Mennonite Group"
Creator: Kyle Wertman
Members: 37 members + 20 groupies
Description: "Why start this group?....Because EMU probably has the highest concentration of Mennonites per square foot than anywhere else on the planet, and I'm not one of them."

"People Who Hate the Smell of Dog Food Group"
Creator: Kevin Butrick
Members: 33 members
Description: "I think the title says it all."

"I Eat Meat Club"
Creator: Dale Humphries
Members: 44 members
Description: "Join if you eat meat."

"Ben Yutzy Fan Club"
Creator: Emily Sims
Members: 42 members
Description: "Do you think Ben Yutzy is beautiful? Then join the club!!! Join even if you don't think he's beautiful...just because he's a really cool conservative guy :0)."

"Procrastinators Anonymous"
Creator: Josiah Garber
Members: 16 members...more will probably sign up tomorrow.
Description: "Support Group for all the procrastinators."

"Anti-shoeless"
Creator: Kate Stewart
Members: 24 members
Description: "For those of you that are tired of seeing all those bare feet around campus...this is the group for you!"