Oxford fined Facebook users

The age-old UK university’s disciplinarians – the proctors – are cracking down on an ancient tradition using Facebook against its Oxford student users. The tradition is called “trashing,” whereby students douse each other with stuff like champagne, shaving foam, and flour to celebration completion of exams, The Times reports. “Staff at Oxford University are searching [Facebook], collecting photographs of students who they say have broken rules on post-examination celebrations, and handing down fines.” The student union, in turn, called the move a “disgraceful” invasion of students’ privacy “and has emailed every common room advising how to prevent [proctors from] viewing the photographs.” The students are getting fined around 70 pounds, about $143, after “residents and police complained that the clean-up bill ran into thousands of pounds,” although The Times reported several years ago that fines have done “nothing to prevent exuberance.” Here’s some coverage from this side of the pond at InformationWeek. In related news, CNET describes “the latest unpopular Facebook move.”