EXPLICIT MEMES COST HARVARD ADMISSIONS
There is a growing trend of students unabashedly voicing opinions on social media. It is seen as a free space and students post their opinions on issues and share their views.
“As a teacher, I often get friend requests from my students and I try to switch from the classroom mode on social media. I ensure that I do not judge any student on the basis of what they post. However, if there is an opinion that I just cannot accept, I do comment and explain the reasons,” said school teacher Chitra P.
Students share posts from other users that reflect their mood. “I always keep a lookout when my students start posting sad posts. Maybe all they need is a little bit of attention and care which I try to give in class. It is easy to gauge a student’s moods and start discussions in class on recent topics,” said teacher Anitha Suresh.
Students feel that by reaching out to their teachers on social media, the sense of fear reduced.
“When you see you teachers share everyday posts, you realise that you can share your worries with them and take their opinions,” said student Salman Faheem. Harvard University recently withdrew admission letters given to 10 freshmen because they shared explicit memes regarding the holocaust, sexual assault and also contained racist content.
The cancellation was done to prevent further mischief and problems on campus.
“It is very difficult for us to check the background of students through his online and social media activity as it is done by foreign universities. Our criteria for admission are simple and whoever fulfills it will get enrolled in the college. We do not look at the student from a holistic point of view as they do so abroad, when they check his volunteering activity, extra curricular activities and others. It all comes down to privacy and some people share reposts and forwards unknowingly but I do believe that everyone is accountable for what they post,” says J.V.K. Reddy, faculty of Vardhaman College.
Students often complain of lack of privacy when post admission checks are done.
They claim that universities keeping a check on their posts after admission curbs their voices. Kavyasree Raghunath, a student of University of Hyderabad was denied admission to English Foreign Languages and University as she was an active participant during the Rohith Vemula protest.
Kavyasree says, “The proctor of EFLU said that he saw my photos on Facebook. I think it is ridiculous for a university to monitor Facebook posts. EFLU also takes an undertaking from students that they will not post anything against the administration. All this surveillance and scrutiny is totalitarian.”