By Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff
Last school year, Brandeis University junior Emily Aronoff tapped this sentiment into a computer: "I enjoy the festive greens."
The reference to marijuana became part of her profile on facebook.com, the online student catalogue that allows Aronoff and tens of thousands of collegians to share photos and idiosyncratic odds and ends of their lives, intended for viewing by other students.
But others were reading as well -- including "an individual in the community," she said, who shared the reference with her parents in Marietta, Ga. Eventually, word reached her grandmother.
"My bubbe," she said, using the Yiddish word for grandmother, "told me her seniors home was abuzz with the news, and I was like: 'I hate the Facebook.' "
As the Facebook has become a phenomenon at schools across the country -- a virtual bible for campus socializing and networking -- the unintended consequences of overly comprehensive, brutally frank, or mischievous entries are surfacing.
Colleges and universities are increasingly taking steps to help students avoid pitfalls -- most critically, those that put students at risk for stalking and harassment. At Tufts University this year, freshmen-orientation leaders encouraged students to omit detailed personal information from their profiles, such as dormitory room numbers and class schedules. Boston College plans to do the same next year, and Boston University has instructed residential advisers on offering guidance on Facebook matters.
Meanwhile, Brandeis held an hour-long seminar last week on Facebook savvy -- recommending safety tips, but also telling students to consider future employers, professors, or family members who might read Facebook entries. Indeed, some Brandeis administrators said at the meeting -- to open-mouthed reactions of students attending -- that they have begun reading Facebook entries before hiring a student for campus positions.