(NAME-MCE) Facebook Brings First-Year Students Together

[KispokoT at aol.com]

Facebook Brings First-Year Students Together 
http://www2.iwu.edu/CurrentNews/newsrelease07/stn_Facebook_807.shtml 
August 24, 2007 
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Before students in Illinois Wesleyan University’s class  
of 2011 even step into a campus classroom, statistics say they have already  
spent hours in front of their computer screens, intently researching the one  
subject they all have in common – each other.  
Of the 572 incoming first-year students at Illinois Wesleyan, 456 of them  
have already joined the social networking Web site Facebook. With more that  
1,600 wall posts and 123 discussion groups generated, IWU first-years have  
connected sooner than ever, discussing topics such as majors, the summer reading  
program and long-distance relationships.  
“I’m not sure what advice to give you,” joked Kelly Petrowski, student 
senate  president, addressing the students at the New Student Convocation on 
Tuesday,  August 21. “What more can I tell you that you haven’t already found out?” 
added  the senior, letting them know more than 78 percent of them had already 
met  through Facebook groups.  
For the generation who turned “Google” into a Merriam Webster  
Dictionary-approved verb, “Facebooking” has become a preferred way to keep in  touch. The 
international trend is so pervasive that Nicole Brown-Davis, director  of 
Multicultural Student Affairs at IWU, thought to create a Facebook group to  
promote this year’s ALANA (African-American, Latino American, Asian American and  
Native American) student orientation week, held in mid-August. “The Facebook  
group was a very useful tool, allowing incoming first-year ALANA students to  
connect with students who’ve already participated in the program,” said  
Brown-Davis. 
In total, 3,725 students, alumni, faculty and staff have joined the IWU  
Facebook network, their profiles detailing everything from their political views  
to their favorite movies and music. Even IWU’s team mascot, Tommy Titan, has 
his  own profile, with more than 400 friends. 
Facebook was created in February of 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, then a 20  
year-old Harvard student. The Web site caught on regionally, spreading from  
Harvard to other east coast colleges and beyond. Currently, Facebook is an  
international Web site open for anyone to join.



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