Student leader faces scrutiny for photo

The 19-year-old vice president-elect of MU’s student government might face penalties from the university for a picture of herself drinking beer that she posted on Facebook, an online social network for some college campuses.

Although the Missouri Students Association vice president-elect, sophomore Brooke Moody, said the drinking took place before she even considered running for office, Donnell Young, coordinator for the Office of Judicial Services, said students who represent the university are held to higher standards.

“What matters is if a student is representing the university,” he said. “Even if the violation is off campus.”

Young wouldn’t say if Moody would lose her new position over the incident.

The picture showed Moody bound to a chair by duct tape as someone poured beer into her mouth, with other beer cases strewn around in the background. The picture was on her Facebook profile for four to five days and has since been taken off, President-elect John Andersen said.

“I have yet to be contacted by any campus officials,” Moody said. “It’s been brought to their attention, and I am going to be taking the proper strides to fix the problem when necessary, but as of right now, it’s all chit-chat.”

Moody and Andersen said because the drinking happened before Moody was elected, she should be able to keep her job.

According to the MU handbook, the M-Book, for students in elected positions to face serious repercussions, they have to break the rules during a university-recognized event.

Young said he commonly conducts investigations when minor-in-possession cases are brought to him. He wouldn’t say if he was going to investigate Moody’s case.

The first repercussion for any suspected minor-in-possession case would be alcohol awareness workshops through the MU Wellness Resource Center. The next punishment, for more severe cases, would be disciplinary probation and possible removal from the student’s official position, Young said.

Because of instances like this, MU’s Student Legal Services and other student offices have teamed up to create a Facebook task force.

Young, who is part of the task force, said it’s imperative to begin educating students on the ramifications of uploading any pictures or making statements on places as public as the Internet.

“Anything you put on the Internet is not private,” he said. “It can come back to haunt you.”