Anyone can post anonymously on JuicyCampus. But when someone lists the "biggest sluts" at Oklahoma State — using first and last names — the posters are unknown, but the women being gossiped about are not. Writes Susan Kinzie for the Washington Post, "It's not unlike the bathroom wall at a dive bar, except that anyone, anywhere, can read it. And it never gets erased or painted over."

Ivester says his site is not breaking any laws, and he hopes to add photos and video soon. The problem is that some students, especially at Georgetown, where many go into Foreign Service or government, worry: Is stuff on this site going to keep me from getting a job?

Supposedly, the site is coded so that the content doesn't get picked up by Google searches. But still. "The fact is," Ivester told the students in the auditorium Tuesday night, "the Internet is changing privacy as we know it."

Whether or not this is true, it just seems like this guy's business model involves humiliating women. Should people be allowed to anonymously post possibly erroneous "gossip" about their classmates, using their full names?

Juice, the Whole Juice and Nothing but the Juice [Washington Post]
'Juicy' Creator Defends Site [GW Hatchet]
JuicyCampus.com [Official Site]

Unsurprisingly, college administrators and students around the country are nonplussed, and many have tried to ban the site from campus networks. Juicy Campus creator Matt Ivester, in an email interview with the AP, says: "We believe that Juicy Campus can have a really positive impact on college campuses, as a place for both entertainment and free expression. Frankly, we're surprised that any college administration would be against the free exchange of ideas."

Ivester, by the way, is a former fraternity president who went to Duke. As we learned back in 2006 from a highly informative Rolling Stone article about social structures on the Duke Campus following the lacrosse rape scandal, frat boys are at the apex of the social hierarchy. (On a side note, those falsely accused players are now suing Duke and the City of Durham for invasion of privacy, emotional distress and other injuries.)Rolling Stone writer Janet Reitman quotes a student, Anna, who relates this story about fraternity dominance at Duke:

''One of my friends thinks she's the biggest feminist, but to me she is one of the biggest anti-feminists, just because of her sexual behavior'' — which is hooking up with several guys in the course of a weekend, including one, a ''regular'' who ''really treats her like shit...''But, you know, she's doing it out of fear,'' says Anna, smiling a bit. ''It's like, 'Oh, yes, consistent sex — that's great. And-maybe he'll invite me to this big frat formal that's coming up that everyone wants to go to.'"

There are already several Facebook groups decrying Juicy Campus, and although the site probably won't (and shouldn't) be banned — you can't stop assholes on the internet from being homophobic, racist, sexist jerks — for Ivester to pretend that he's doing something noble for free speech is laughable at best. Is it possible that the '05 graduate, a few years out of college, created his site not to promote a "free exchange of ideas" but simply so he can feel some of the social power he once wielded before graduation?

Backlash Hits JuicyCampus.com [AP via MSNBC]
Sex & Scandal At Duke [Rolling Stone]