New Drexel students attending orientation sessions this summer are learning about more than the University’s academic programs and policies—students are also discovering how they can protect their privacy while using social networking Internet sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com. On-line Communities—How to Stay Safe and Maintain Your Privacy, a video directed and produced by Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design music industry major and film minor Dylan Steinberg, is being shown at all orientation sessions to alert students and their parents about the potential risks associated with posting personal information on the popular Web sites.

The video is a product of the West Philadelphia Campus Community Consortium to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women (CCC), which is sponsored by a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women in the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Julie Mostov, Drexel’s director of International Area Studies, is the grant’s co-principle investigator. The CCC includes Drexel, Penn, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USP) and community partners Women Against Abuse, Women Organized Against Rape, the Philadelphia Police Department and Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. The film is designed for use at new student orientations at all CCC schools and to be shown to parents and students throughout the year.

Facebook, MySpace and other online social networking sites allow registered users to post personal information, including photos, birthdays, addresses likes and dislikes, and meet others with similar interests. The CCC video, approximately eight minutes in length, covers topics such as posting appropriate content and types of photos, using privacy settings and limiting personal information to avoid being the victim of identity theft, stalking, harassment and other crimes. It features Drexel students and their reactions to questions about online communities. Steinberg designed the screenplay based on information from the CCC and the Philadelphia Police Department training manual and funding from the grant. Steinberg, who also produced the video’s soundtrack, worked under the mentorship of Drexel International Area Studies’ Assistant, Connie Steel and the CCC Education and Outreach Working Group.

“This project is an excellent example of how students can use their talents to do violence-prevention work on campus and how young men can get involved in this work,” says Steel. “The feedback we have received from students and parents has been outstanding.”

The video, soon to be available on the CCC Web site at www.combatviolenceagainstwomen.org, will be available for licensing to other educational institutions. The CCC site also includes more information about the organization, its initiatives and video ordering information.