Students have never shied away from vocalizing their views. Demonstrations and student newspapers are the traditional forums of student opinion but increasingly, students are turning to blogs to express themselves. In our digital society blogs are ubiquitous; they are informal, easily accessible and convey a sense of immediacy to their reader. Student blogs can be more candid than newspapers and it seems that colleges are embracing this new form of expression. Blogging offers students a personal and colloquial narrative and a direct contrast to the formality of official college communication.

M.I.T. is spearheading this new development with hundreds of unedited posts and responses being displayed on the college’s admissions website. Although it has been met with some reservations, the college is continuing to allow current students air their views without censorship. The purpose of this is to allow prospective students a glimpse of student life at M.I.T. Other colleges are following suit, Jess Lord, Dean of Admissions at Haverford College says: “A lot of people in admissions have not been eager for bloggers, mostly based on fears that we can’t control what people are saying,” however he admits that it is what the students want and is an integral part of their world. Jess Kim, a High School senior thinks the blogs were hugely helpful in learning about everyday college life and he himself is an avid blogger: “I was blogging myself, almost every day, when I was in high school, and I read the M.I.T. blogs all the time.”

For M.I.T. bloggers, they are given free rein to write about any topic they feel will benefit a future student. Bloggers get paid up to $10 an hour in M.I.T. Outside of M.I.T. other college advisors think that blogging will benefit anyone, especially those in marketing, communications and other liberal arts majors. M.I.T. officials believe that current student’s blogs can act as a new form of marketing and advertising for the college. They attract potential applicants on a more personal level.

The process is not without its downside however, negative or boring posts can tarnish the academic reputation and encumber the blogging site. The selection for M.I. T. bloggers is also difficult. 25 students applied for 4 positions this year and some officials feel blogging can worry some students, who are anxious about what people write on their post. However, despite any negativity that may accompany these blogs, they are ultimately becoming a powerful tool.

The New York Times reports how a student: “once wrote about how the resident advising system was making it impossible for her to move out of her housing — expressing enough irritation that the housing office requested that the admissions office take her post down. Officials refused, instead having the housing office post a rebuttal of her accusations; eventually, the system was changed.”