Don't be too surprised when that next Facebook.com friend request comes from a professor.
About 135 Penn faculty members have accounts on the online social directory, causing some students to wonder exactly what their professors know about them.
And at other schools, faculty and administrators are using the Facebook to do more than just connect with students.
At George Washington University, for example, a group of students said that campus police used the Facebook "parties" list last year to find out the times and locations of events and raid them for underage drinkers.
Though Penn professors who actively use the site say they have seen photographs of their students with alcohol or drugs, few say that the photographs caused them to think poorly of the people they see each day in class.
"It wasn't that long ago since I graduated from college," said Sociology professor David Grazian, who has had a Facebook account for a little over a year.
"It's not that shocking to see college students acting the way college students acted when I was in college," he added.
Students do not seem concerned about their information being viewed by professors, either.
"It's a student's choice to put that information on there," Wharton sophomore Gavin Lazarus said. "Everything's fair game."
Professors and students alike view the Facebook as another way to build a connection and learn more than just the information presented in a class.
"In the classroom you only learn so much about your students," Grazian said. "As a sociologist, I'm interested in how people live their everyday lives. This is a window into my students' lives."
Asian-American Studies professor Ajay Nair is one of the most popular professors on the Web site, with 245 Penn Facebook friends. He told students about his Facebook profile during class, and according to some of his students, friended several of them.
"He's one of those people who really wants to be with the students," Wharton sophomore Rita Bagai said.
To Grazian -- who studies the sociology of popular culture -- the Facebook itself is a worthy topic for academic discussion.
Grazian discusses Friendster -- an similar online directory of profiles, photos and Web logs -- in a "Sociology of Media and Popular Culture" lecture.
Following the class, a student told Grazian that most users of Friendster are adults, whereas college students use the Facebook.
"I announced to my students the next class that I was on the Facebook, and they started asking me to be their friend," Grazian said.
Mathematics professor Mark Ward has a Facebook profile, as well as a group named for him: "Ward makes calculus worth learning." The group has drawn 72 members.
"A student was mentioning [the Facebook group], and I just overheard it," Ward said. "Of course, the page was very flattering."
According to College freshman Justin Swartz -- a student in one of Ward's classes -- Ward put his Facebook profile on his projector during class.
"Eventually a lot of kids in the class started Facebook friending him," Swartz said. "It's a pretty good way to become more socialized with professors."
Facebook for profs - Over 130 Penn professors have Facebook accounts - Many students receptive to faculty efforts to connect on a more personal level
