Recently, Millersville University denied Strasburg resident Stacy Snyder her teaching certificate and education degree because of a photo Snyder had posted on her MySpace Web site.
In the photo, she is wearing a pirate hat and drinking from a plastic cup. The caption under the picture read "Drunken Pirate."
J. Barry Girvin, Snyder's professor/student teacher supervisor, gave Snyder an unsatisfactory rating in professionalism.
"There were errors in judgment that relate to Pennsylvania's code of Professional Practice and Conduct for Educators," Girvin wrote in her evaluation, according to newspaper accounts.
Snyder is suing the college to get her degree.
Teens ought to realize that personal postings on the Internet can and do affect a person's professional reputation and employment opportunities.
Colleges and employers can look at what is posted on the Internet, and it can affect prospects for school admissions and job opportunities.
Dennis Trotter, vice president for enrollment at Franklin & Marshall College, said admissions counselors don't check the Internet for background information on every candidate. However, if something in their essays or transcripts raises questions, counselors will see what they can find online.
"A student who demonstrates a significant lapse in judgment may make the difference between admission or not being admitted, despite academics," Trotter said. Admission to college is as much about students' judgment and their ability to live in the community as it is about academics, he said.
Roger Dooley monitors a student forum on the Web site www.collegeconfidential.com. He compiles resources designed to help students find the college that best suits their needs.
Dooley advises students to be very careful about what they post online.
"Online content that creates a negative impression could even be called to the attention of admissions reps by classmates who think they are competing for acceptance at the same school," Dooley wrote in an e-mail.
Trotter, like many college officials involved in admissions, has his own Facebook profile. Some students have him listed as a friend so he can see what is posted on their profiles. He also gets to see what the students' friends post, including pictures.
He has had to warn a few of them that employers can check the pictures and items they post online.
"They are walking a real fine line if there's heated competition over a job," Trotter said.
Chris Zampogna, general manager of JFC Staffing Associates, said his staff gets most of the information needed to clear a potential employee from criminal background checks and references.
"To the degree that it's not illegal, it's not my business what they do with their personal life," Zampogna said.
Zampogna admitted, however, that if he were an employer deciding between two applicants and he saw something offensive the applicant posted online, it "probably" would influence his decision.
It's a matter of judgment, Trotter said. We know students go to parties, he said, but when they put their activities on the Web for all the world to see, it shows a lapse of judgment.
A potential employer could wonder if that same poor judgment will follow the person into the job — possibly jeopardizing the reputation of his company.
E-mail: lespenshade@lnpnews.com