JuicyCampus addicts will have to find a new place to get the 411 on student affairs at Ball State University.
JuicyCampus founder and CEO Matt Ivester said in a press release Wednesday that today would be the last day for the site. The company's lack of funding and its exponential growth had outpaced its ability to get more resources. As a result of revenue loss, he decided to close down the site today.
He said neither investors nor advertisers had pulled from the site. Advertisers remained with the site at a decreased level based on lower ad budgets for companies across the board as a result of economic downturn, Ivester said in an e-mail.
Student Government Association President Frank Hood said he was happy to hear the news that JuicyCampus was shutting down.
Hood thought the closing would bring relief to students who were posted about the most because the avenue used to bash them was gone.
"I'm excited," Hood said. "It was a site that really tore apart the community of Ball State."
He was surprised about the closing because he thought the site was financially stable due to its massive growth.
"I'd like to think that the efforts at Ball State and other campuses to send a message to each other not to go there helped," Hood said. "I would like to think that this message caused readership to dwindle."
Other Ball State organizations also were delighted to see JuicyCampus close down.
Cory Schneider, Interfraternity Council vice president of public relations, said he thought the closing was a wonderful thing not just for the greek community but for other Ball State organizations as well.
"I think 99 percent of what I read on there was a complete fallacy," Schneider said. "It won't be a medium for people to spread false information."
He said it was a trashy way for people to "dis" each other and was sure a lot of other people on campus would be happy to see it go.
Some students were shocked.
Freshman Dillon Albee said it was great the site was done because it had caused drama and ruined student's lives.
"It projects an image to other campuses that isn't true of Ball State," Albee said.
Not everyone was overjoyed to say goodbye to JuicyCampus.
"It doesn't matter," freshman Daniella Flemings said. "I didn't post stuff, but it made me laugh."
She saw JuicyCampus as exploitative entertainment.
"JuicyCampus is entertainment, but it's no worse than Facebook," Flemings said. "It's a way to express your Facebook feelings without a name."
Although she found the site entertaining and laughable, she said there was a downside.
Flemings said her English teacher had posts saying he exchanged grades for sex from students.
"It made you judge people before you met them," she said.
Freshman Desire Grose felt the site highlighted problems with racism on campus.
"It makes people more racist," she said. "I think it's good [it's gone]. It created a lot of problems."
So what's next for JuicyCampus?
JuicyCampus does not have any plans to come back, but who knows what the future might hold, according to the site's blog.
Ivester said he would consult with some start-ups in the Los Angeles area and was brainstorming the next big site.
"While there are parts of JuicyCampus that none of us will miss - the mean-spirited posts and personal attacks - it has also been a place for the fun, lighthearted gossip of college life," Ivester said.
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