Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Facebook Round-up

As this recent article in the Advance-Titan at UW-Oshkosh demonstrates, Facebook has become a useful and almost ubiquitous tool when it comes to organizing on college campuses. With that in mind, I spent some time poking around Facebook to see where we stand. (Unfortunately, Facebook only allows me to search the school tied to my account, so I can only report on what I've found at UW-Madison. If you're reading from another school, feel free to share what your school has in the comments section.)

A Fair Wisconsin Votes No! is our statewide election-issue group, and is therefore our largest. It's growing by the minute and, as I write this, just reached 3,501 members. There is also A Fair Wisconsin Votes No! (Minnesota Chapter) for those fair-minded Wisconsinites attending school in Minnesota.

Students for a Fair Wisconsin is the "official" Facebook-group version of Students for a Fair Wisconsin: UW-Madison Chapter. These are The Students for a Fair Wisconsin at UW-Madison - the ones that make everything happen on campus. It currently has 336 active members.

We also have a group called I'm voting No on the amendment... which asks members to finish the sentence: "I'm voting no on the ban because..."

There are a couple classic groups at UW-Madison: the always absurd Gay Marriage Killed the Dinosaurs (Wisconsin Chapter) and the somewhat vulgar Against Gay Marriage? Then Don't Get One and Shut the Fuck Up!.

And let's not forget my favorite spin-off: Sellery Residents for a Fair Wisconsin. I hope we'll see a lot more groups like this soon!

Finally, our round-up would not be complete without checking into our opposition. Though we disagree with their title, they've also registered a statewide election-issue group: A Moral Wisconsin Votes YES. Unfortunately, they currently have 268 active members.

Our opposition at UW-Madison is much milder: Protect the sanctity of marriage, vote yes November 7th!, which has merely three members, and Students for an Unfair WI (what?), which is now up to six.

The sheer number of people in our groups (and their rate of growth) show just how important this issue has become on campus. Students are energized and committed to defeating the ban, and with their frequent updates, these groups are a great way to get involved. Together, we can make history on November 7!