Students share their 'texts from last night'

The social networking site Facebook has become a way of life among college students, and with it, membership to certain Facebook groups has become an increasingly popular trend.

One relatively new Facebook group, FGCU Texts from Last Night, has been getting more and more attention as this semester has progressed.

FGCU Texts from Last Night was created in January and is modeled after the hugely popular textsfromlastnight.com. The original Texts from Last Night is a blog that regularly updates postings of short text messages submitted by its users that often are scandalous or shocking in nature.

The texts are seen to be similar to late-night drunk dials, and due to their embarrassing nature are posted with area codes and not phone numbers. The relative anonymity provided by the area code-only practice is largely due to the increasing popularity of the site, which receives about 4 million hits per day. Users of the site are able to reply to text-message postings and rate whether or not the text message indicated a "good night" or a "bad night."

There is some controversy over whether the original Web site glorifies blackout drinking and promiscuity. Alison Tishman and Helene Scott, who created the FGCU facebook group, claim that their site is meant as a distraction and was formed in the spirit of inter-school competition.

"Helene and I both have very close friends that go to UCF. We were all on Skype one night and having a friendly debate on whose school was better. Helene's friend from UCF said, 'Well, my school has its own Texts from Last Night group,' and Helene goes, 'Well, ours will too!'

"Looking through Facebook, it wasn't just UCF that had one; several other schools did also, including FAU and UF. We thought that FGCU should be a part of that," said Tishman, a freshman majoring in English.

Scott, a freshman majoring in communication, agrees that the group was formed in good spirit, not as a way to glorify underage drinking. "I thought the page would basically be a place for students to get their mind off school work. It's a place to take five minutes from hard work and laugh, and a chance for a fun break from stressful life."

In the short time since the creation of the group, its popularity has spread rampantly and membership is now at almost 1,500 members. Tishman was particularly surprised by the group's enormous reception by FGCU students.

"It was so unexpected! When we made this group we just invited our personal friends from FGCU, and somehow it spread like wildfire. …We have also gotten several messages from students telling us how great of an idea it was and how jealous they are that they didn't think of it first," said Tishman.

"On the other hand, we also have a few negative responses saying the group is disrespectful and rude. Unfortunately, we are sorry for that, but we can't make everyone happy, and most students enjoy the group," said Tishman.

Arantza Calligari, a freshman pre-med major, believes that the site is a negative reflection ofFGCU. "When I clicked on the site, I was disgusted. It shocks me how the same people that are cursing and making disturbing, perverted comments are also my FGCU classmates."

Student reception, however, is mostly positive. Jay Hernandez, a sophomore majoring in hospitality and management, said, "I think the site is hilarious. It shows that FGCU students have just as much fun as the students at all the other 'big' universities in Florida."

One student even posted on the group page, "This may become the best group on Facebook."

There are some major similarities and differences in the FGCU group and the original TFLN website. The FGCU site keeps with the tradition of posting only the area code of the person who sent the texts. In addition to anonymity, Tishman and Scott say that this provides a fun way for students who are from the same area code to relate and try to guess who the person is.

Visitors to the FGCU site can "like" or comment on a post just like any other on Facebook, but there is no way to vote on whether the text is the result of a "good" or "bad" night.

Scott says that FGCU TFLN does not discriminate which texts are posted. "If you have ever tried to submit a text on the original Web site, it will hardly ever go through. This way, everyone gets to submit one."