Spring Break
Facebook offers students new way to connect
Nadine Anheier
Issue date: 8/29/05 Section: Culture
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The reason? Thefacebook.com
The Web site allows users to make friends-or enemies-with the click of a button.
Any student, alumni or faculty member with a college e-mail address can create a profile. In each profile, members can list their contact information, basic information and interests. They can then add themselves to various groups and find different classmates and pals to add to their friend list.
In May, UMKC was added to the social network.
Incoming freshmen, such as Deborah Raithel, are grateful for the site because it helps ease their nerves.
"I've gotten to meet people at UMKC who have similar interests [and] classes as me," said Raithel. "I feel a lot less freaked out about going to college. I've even gotten to talk to and see what my roommate looks like."
Chelsea Ringler, freshman, believes the facebook is useful for new students because it allows them to gain friends before setting foot on campus.
"I think one of the most beneficial things about it is that it gives students who might be a little more introverted than others a chance to scope out other people on campus and find some friends with the same interests," said Ringler. "I only knew one person at UMKC when I enrolled, and now I've got a ton of people that I've met on facebook. It'll be fun to put personalities with the faces when I have class with some of these kids."
Not only does facebook give people the chance to make new friends, it allows them to rekindle old friendships.
"There are many people in my life that I have met for various reasons at various places that I have lost connection with, but after just a little click, they can be my 'friend' again," said Raithel. "I can see what they have been up to and how much they've changed."
Raithel is not the only student grateful for the chance to reconnect with long-lost friends. Facebook receives e-mails from fans with similar stories.
"We get feedback from users everyday," said Chris Hughes, facebook spokesperson. "Common stories relate to finding old friends, complimenting us on the resourcefulness of the site, a story about building a new relationship, etc."
Although facebook is one of the biggest online social networks, it is barely two years old. According to Hughes, the Web site was initially a project meant only for college students at Harvard University.
