If is a school sponsored page, she may want to PM the administrator (who usually does nothing more than admit kids to the group) and ask that thry remind students of the TOS and take down anything offensive.
If it’s something racial, for example, your D could always put up a post saying that she finds the post offensive and hopes that the lack of negative response isn’t due to the whole group sharing those views. My guess is that there would be some traction around that.
I understand how it can feel difficult to take a stand in such a group.
I remember something like this in a WashU GroupMe from a couple years ago. which resulted in a candidate for the Student Senate suspending his candidacy. Unfortunately the information was revealed by another candidate who got into the GroupMe and was ultimately elected.
If I recall correctly the GroupMe was all boys and they made inappropriate comments. The person who outed then was female and infiltrated the group as a homosexual male (I am not kidding-it was in the WashU student newspaper). The school couldn’t do anything since apparently there were no dirty campaigning rules.
If their feelings run contrary to either the ToS of the group or their admissions letter terms (or both), then file it under “who cares what they think.” When admissions are rescinded, their feelings won’t matter.
I’ll assume the OP is not looking for a debate on the issue, since that would run counter to the ToS for this site.
I’m not sure what the real issue is here. This sounds inappropriate…so your daughter should just leave the group. Does she really think anyone will notice? Just leave.
What @thumper1 said. Just leave the group. It will die a natural death or it will gt kids in trouble. Either way, no loss to her. Except FOMO, I guess. But IMO missing out on THIS is ideal.
My school’s admitted students chat is hyperaware of what happened with the Harvard group a few years ago. We avoid posting offensive memes. It’s not that hard.
I think your daughter should leave the group. There’s probably another one she should join.
I’ve worked with students rescinded under these circumstances. I didn’t agree with the recissions, but that doesn’t matter. Kids need to understand how harsh the consequences can be for even being a virtual bystander. Warn your students and require them to unsubscribe if you find out this is happening.
Let’s remember that college campuses are bastions of free speech, and free speech is often offensive, satiric, vulgar. Listen to the comedy shows performed on campus. These meme-wars are apparently a new outlet for kids to push limits. Let’s not put our heads in the sand; our kids are seeing really awful stuff online. And given the anonymity of the web, some are posting for fun and reaction.
Back to OP…Unless the postings are personally harassing an individual or inciting violence, they may be within bounds.
So without knowing what was posted, I don’t think we can condemn the participating kids. And of course one can always steer clear of a group you find offensive.
I don’t think it is an issue of the participating kids being condemned, but whether the OP’s child should be involved at all, even as an on-looker. What is OP’s child getting out of being a member of the group at all?
I disagree with most of this*, but since cc is not a debate society, I’ll just suggest that a college-sanctioned group site should not have “really awful stuff” on it. If the college knows about it and does nothing, the college can be complicit in that “really awful stuff.”
*As an example, many comics no longer want to do the college circuit…
A college sanctioned chat-group is not a public forum, and as such is not subject to “free speech”.
Imagine there is a Meet and Greet for all accepted kids. Would it be OK for one of the kids to start yelling racial epitaphs, or holding up posters with offensive content? There is no difference between that and what is happening ion the chat group. It is a space provided by the college for students to get to know one another, and a bunch of little sh*theads are making it unpleasant for everybody else.
The OP’s daughter should report this behavior, and the kids who engage in this behavior should be told “That’s 1”. If the memes/jokes are such that they constitute a threat, like “jokingly” talking about rape or lynching, the kids who are responsible should have their acceptances rescinded, or, at very least, be put on probation, and have their acceptance rescinded, or be expelled, if it is repeated.
There should also be other consequences for these actions, whether it be writing a paper on the topic, or some other appropriate educational activity.
I’d tell her to post a link to the Harvard story and then get out. Whether they get caught or not, they should at least understand that how they’re viewing that forum is not how schools might, and they really need to start growing up now.
Since this is a public university per the OP, free speech is an applicable model, and the students involved might have a good legal cause of action if they were rescinded for offensive, but non-harassing, speech in an admitted students chat room. But you don’t want a viable lawsuit – you want to hang on the acceptance in the first place. Everyone in this situation should put focus there.
She’s an adult (or very near so) and should be left to make her own decisions and bear the consequences (or lack of). You know it poses a risk and can/should advise her of that. I’d be clear that if there was action against her by the school, including rescinding admission, I wouldn’t pay a single dollar in legal fees or other monetary or time costs. That’s the part about bearing the consequences.
@Hanna You’re the legal expert, not I, but wouldn’t that be the same as claiming that not allowing students to shout throughout lectures or labs at public universities also violates their freedom of speech?