Students use anonymity of Internet to take shots at each other

High school gossip: In years past it was confined mostly to restroom stalls?

The stall was a bulletin board filled with stories of who slept with whom, who people found "hot" and who people hated.

That was the main source of drama a couple of decades ago.

But now, the gossip is online.

Welcome to Burnbook.com.

The website advertised itself as a space where people could gossip about their peers, co-workers and fellow students in a forum that enabled them to maintain anonymity.

Though the site was taken offline in November, this type of online forum has become the new restroom wall for high school students.

Students across the valley used the site to post their often profane opinions about one another.

Green Valley High School senior Alena Kiki was one of the students discussed on the website with comments that included sexually related references and use of vulgar words.

"I know that we're in high school and people tend to get wrapped up in gossip," Kiki says. "It made me sad to think about how mean students can be to not only myself, but to one another. So, that night I made about 100 fliers that read 'I am against Burnbook.' The next day I passed them out to the whole school just to show my opinion on the subject."

The "Burnbook" became a serious problem at Green Valley, with gossip about more than 150 students and teachers appearing on the site.

Green Valley junior Aaron Jackson agrees with Kiki in saying the website was a problem, but he believes that students' intentions were less serious. He admits he posted a comment on the site about himself, saying that he was poking fun at Burnbook.com's ridiculousness.

Jackson is one of the many students who began to write positive comments on the website.

"I think that the website has been blown way out of proportion," he says. "People just overreacted way too much and in my opinion, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. To be honest, a majority of the students at our school think that the website is funny."

Green Valley teachers and administrators recently talked to students about the dangers of their actions, focusing on how online bullying is against the law in the Nevada. The administration has suspended students for their actions, after tracing the comments to particular computers. Principal Jeff Horn met with all of the seniors in their government classes and freshmen in their English classes.

"Green Valley's participation in the website has definitely hurt our standing in the community," says Sheryl Peterson, school dean. "I feel like our school has higher expectations and higher standards than most schools, so when I found out about the website, I was really disappointed. Since online bullying is a crime in the state of Nevada, we warned that we would prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. This swift action definitely redeemed our school's standing."

Although Green Valley had the largest number of "burns" locally, it was not the only high school involved in the Burnbook.com craze. Students across the school district used the website to talk about their peers.

Coronado junior and varsity cheerleader Rachelle Ochoa was written about on her school's network multiple times.

"It made everyone feel insecure about whether or not they would be talked about," Ochoa says. "It's sad because, although it's not true, Coronado now has a name for itself as the home for slutty girls."

Many parents were infuriated by the website and asked the administration to shut the program down. After the threats made by Green Valley and other schools, the site was taken offline.

Ochoa discussed the website and the things that were written about her with her mom. Some of the comments included remarks regarding her weight, her role as a cheerleader and her opposite-sex relationships.

"My mom is a really chill person," Ochoa says. "After I told her about the website, she immediately told me to not write anything on it because I could get in a lot of trouble for taking part in it and it could lead to me being kicked off the cheerleading team."

Peterson believes that "Burnbook"-style drama is not only attractive to high school students, but that it's become a part of society.

"Unfortunately, salacious news sells," she says. "We see tabloid magazines with Angelina Jolie on the cover and it is always a 'burn'-type comment. People like that stuff, and I feel until people take a stand against bullying, nothing can be done about this."