Keystone College Athletics – Policy (last updated: June 8, 2017)

Student-Athlete Guidelines

The Keystone College Athletic Department fully respects students’ rights to utilize social networking and new media sites. The department understands the popularity and usefulness of social media and encourages its student-athletes who choose to utilize social media to do so in a responsible manner.

Keystone College does not actively search for violations of the Student Code of Conduct online or in cyberspace. However if a concern or issue is brought to the attention of the College or a College Official which concerns or is related to a student’s use of , , YouTube, etc., the issue will be addressed with the student or students identified as being responsible for or involved with the content. All students should consider the consequences for posting materials prior to putting them online. Any content which adversely affects the College community or diminishes the reputation of the College is subject to the Student Code of Conduct.

As a student-athlete, you are more prominent in the public eye than the general student and thus significantly represent Keystone College and your team. As such, please keep the following guidelines in mind when you participate in social/new media websites:

This policy and guidelines include all social networking sites, including, but not limited to: Twitter, Facebook, , YouTube, , LinkedIn, , Flickr, , MySpace, , , NetLog, and etc., as well as blogs, message boards, and other social platforms.

 No matter what your privacy settings are, nothing posted on any social/new media site is 100% private. Assume that anything you post on any social/new media website will not only be seen by your friends and teammates, but also your parents and other family members, your professors, your coaches, athletic staff and administration, College administration, and by the people who will decide whether to offer you an internship, admittance to graduate school, or a job.

 Do not post any information, photos, videos, or other items that could embarrass yourself or any one of these parties.

 Coaches, administrators, College officials, members of the media, and members of the public at large can easily access personal social/new media websites. However, in many incidents involving inappropriate use of social media, the posts or content in question is brought to the attention of coaches, administrators, and and/or college officials by external sources as opposed to coaches, administrators, and/or college officials monitoring social media.

 Potential employers, internship supervisors, and graduate programs often will search social/new media sites to screen candidates.

 Sportsmanship: Do not bad-mouth your teammates, coaches, staff, instructors, opponents, opposing institutions, officials, or fans as this public information becomes a reflection on you, your team, and Keystone College.

 Do not provide “bulletin board material” by trash-talking opponents or officials.

 Abusive and/or derogatory comments about other individuals or groups will not be tolerated. Such behavior may be violate of the College’s Code of Conduct and may also be viewed as harassment and is subject to discipline accordingly.

 For your own safety and security, do not post your home or local address, phone number, birth date, or any other personal information on any social/new media outlet. Also, use caution when posting your current location (i.e., “checking in”) or posting about future plans.

 Be cautious of who you add or approve as a friend, follow, or in some other way, directly associate with on social media.

 Share all the great and positive things you do while wearing Keystone apparel on social media! Use good judgement for pictures and videos that could wind up on social media while wearing Keystone apparel.

 Student-athletes found in violation of team, department, college and/or NCAA policies are subject to discipline. Discipline will be handled on a case by case basis and may include, but is not limited to, suspension from athletic competition, dismissal from team, and/or further discipline by College administration.

Top 5 Issues Getting Student-Athletes Into Trouble on Social Media (Source: www.coachfore.org) 1. General Inappropriate Content - 29% A. General (inappropriate posts relating to school/team/social activity) – 46% B. Language – 36% C. Lying – 18% 2. Talking Trash: 24% 3. Alcohol/Drugs: 19% 4. Coaching Complaints: 16% 5. Inappropriate Pictures/Nudity/Partial Nudity: 12%

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