College communicators contend with JuicyCampus.com

College PR pros wonder how to deal with a social media site that’s so nasty they can hardly bear to look

Perhaps it was a wise PR professional who once said you should never wrestle a pig: You both get muddy and the pig likes it.

JuicyCampus.com is potentially the biggest, dirtiest pig that university public relations people have been confronted with in a long time. And based on Ragan.com’s investigation, so far they’re doing their very best not to wrestle it—or even touch it, for fear of getting some of that dirt on them.

Before we get into how university communicators are responding—or should respond—let’s take a gander at this beast.

JuicyCampus was founded last August “with the simple mission,” according to the Web site, “of enabling anonymous free speech on college campuses.” There’s a JuicyCampus blog and a newsletter, but the essence of the site is as simple as a bathroom stall.

Anyone can post anything about anything or anyone, with the assurance of anonymity, for the world to see. “It is impossible for anyone to use this Web site to find out who you are or where you are located,” the JuicyCampus site boasts.

And what happens when you enable anonymous free speech on college campuses?