Is a Web site Too Controversial? We ask its founder.

Some of the students we talked to today are concerned that http://www.juicycampus.com spreads hate and creates the potential to promote violence. We took those concerns to the man behind the
site - Matt Ivester. Ivester says he can see why some students are concerned about the site’s content.

He says, “I think there are some attacks that are mean spirited or personal attacks. That’s not what Juicy Campus is meant for and it’s not the only posts found at Juicy Campus. But what administration at top universities have said, because they’ve all considered banning the site, but what they’ve realized…to ban Juicycampus.com, to control access to information would be completely incompatible with the mission of an institution of higher education…What they’re saying is this is an opportunity to educate our students and what we need to do is not ban the Web site, that doesn’t accomplish anything. We need to have discussions about what is appropriate and not appropriate to discuss online and what to do when you see something you disagree with or dislike.“

Reporter: “Why establish an online forum that gives people the opportunity to say exactly what they want, no matter how mean it is, no matter how degrading or hateful.“
Ivester: “Why did our forefathers give us the First Amendment? The idea wasn’t so people could say mean and degrading things, but so they would have the freedom to express their opinions openly and freely without negative repercussions.“

Reporter: “What if it sets them off edge and we’re dealing with another Columbine situation or Virginia Tech?“

Ivester: “I understand that concern but I think education is right way to address that rather than censorship. I think to take away an American liberty is just a dangerous, dangerous, path for us to be going down as a country.“

We asked Attorney General Roy Cooper, who’s been critical of social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace in the past, what he thought about the site.

He said:  “This site is another example of how the internet can amplify problems that people face in the offline world.  Gossip that used to be whispered can now be spread all over the world.”     

Cooper goes on to say: “We must continue to educate parents, teachers and young people about the risks of the internet.“