Every day, students go on Facebook.com to stalk people from class, poke the hotties they have crushes on and upload weekend party photos.

Twelve million different people use the site each month, and users spend an average of 18 minutes on the site each day, Facebook spokesman Chris Hughes said in an e-mail.

But what many students don't know is that classmates aren't the only people who can access their profiles and photos. MSU police, administrators, professors and alumni are also on the site. According to law-enforcement officials, it's possible that students could be prosecuted for what they post on Facebook.

The social networking site for high school and college students was created in February 2004. Now two years later, universities across the country are using the site as a tool to investigate illegal activities — leading to a number of cases in which students have faced disciplinary action.

Not just your friends

Although many MSU and East Lansing officials say they do not use Facebook for disciplinary purposes, anyone with a ".edu" e-mail address can create a profile on the site, regardless of student status. Many MSU administrators, hall directors, faculty and staff members have signed on. Some residence hall mentors have admitted to using Facebook to look for students partying in the dorms.

It's not just the university that students have to worry about — the FBI can use information on the site in criminal investigations. James Dietz, chief division counsel for the Detroit Division of the FBI, said he doesn't know of any examples of the FBI using Facebook as evidence in criminal cases, but it wouldn't stop agents from utilizing it in the future.

MSU Admissions Director Pam Horne has a profile — complete with updates and a photo. Horne said students should try to present themselves in a positive light in their Facebook profiles because officials and administrators have access to the site.

She said she does not use the site to search for students doing illegal things or for applicants to MSU because she doesn't have time.

"Could I?" Horne said. "Yes, and students need to know that."

Even East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton has a profile on Facebook, but hasn't used it. Staton said he and other elected officials were given MSU e-mail addresses about 10 years ago.

"I was curious about it as a means of communication," Staton said.

A question of privacy

Although MSU officials say they don't use Facebook to monitor students, mentors have used the Web site to uncover parties in the dorms.

In fall 2004, students in Case Hall were arrested for underage drinking after their party was posted on Facebook ahead of time. Complex Director Edwin Darrell checked Facebook to confirm it was happening and later informed MSU police.

"At the time (the students) said they were going to have a party, I could hear loud music and the floor reeked of alcohol," he said. "I didn't check it out just because it was on Facebook — (there were) prior incidents on the floor.

"I guarantee you, administrators don't have the time to go through Facebook to see what every student is doing."

Students who didn't know officials are on the site said it's an invasion of privacy.

"I was under the impression that you had to be a student to be on it," said Andy Engel, an agriculture and natural resources communications senior.

Prenursing freshman Jillian Seidl said she knew MSU staff were on the site because a friend showed her a professor's profile.

"It's made for students to have fun and keep in touch with friends," Seidl said. "It kind of ruins it when you have to censor what's out there because an administrator could be monitoring your page."

Terry Denbow, vice president of University Relations, said he would never condone the use of Facebook to find students participating in illegal activities or having parties.

"I'm very, very concerned about privacy issues," Denbow said.

The State News filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all e-mails referencing Facebook in the past six months, authored by MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon, Denbow, Vice President of Student Affairs Lee June, MSU registrar Linda Stanford, MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor and MSU police Chief Jim Dunlap.

MSU's Freedom of Information Act office responded on March 24 with only two e-mails, one from MSU police and another from Presidents Office Operations. Both were mass e-mailings referencing news articles that included the word Facebook.

Kary Moss, spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, said when people voluntarily post things in a public domain such as Facebook, it could be subject to investigation, both by police and university officials.

"There are no legal decisions that hold that a Web site like Facebook.com is private to the same degree that a home or a car would be," Moss said. "It's just an unevaluated area in the law."

Linda Maloney, Ingham County chief assistant prosecutor, said privacy doesn't apply to Internet postings.

Hughes said students who are bothered that faculty and university staff can see their profiles should change their personal privacy settings.

Police involvement

McGlothian-Taylor said MSU police have never used Facebook to find students partying or using drugs because the department is too busy to search the site. But the site could be used if necessary, she said.

East Lansing police Chief Tom Wibert said in an e-mail the department has never used Facebook in a criminal investigation or to detect illegal behavior.

"If we became aware of some type of illegal activity taking place on the Web site, such as some type of identity theft or child pornography, I'm positive we would launch an investigation," Wibert said.

Other universities have used the site for police investigations. Princeton University Director of Public Safety Steven Healy wrote a letter to the campus newspaper in March informing students Facebook had been used as an investigative tool in past incidents.

The letter stated: "When officers become aware of information that potentially affects campus safety, we have an obligation to follow those leads wherever they take us."

When Pennsylvania State University students charged the football field after a game against Ohio State in 2005, Facebook was used for identification.

Police officers were assaulted during the incident, and many of the students were intoxicated, said Penn State University police Assistant Director Tyrone Parham.

Parham said the police department used a Facebook group titled "We rushed the field after the OSU game" to find students who participated.

No charges were filed, but more than 50 students were referred to the university's judicial affairs office, Parham said.

Some MSU students said they wouldn't put anything incriminating about themselves on the site.

"It doesn't affect me, but if I was underage drinking and I got caught because of that, I'd have a different perspective," said music education freshman Erin Little.