Video-posting Web site YouTube.com lets you "Broadcast Yourself," but students could face disciplinary or legal action depending on what they post.
Movies on YouTube.com aren't usually considered a problem if they're not intended to make money, said Art Lee, associate general counsel for ASU.
But privacy and content issues could pose legal concerns, he added.
"In regards to videos being taken of people in a public area, really there are no legal issues or concerns in regard to that [so long as] it's not being used for a commercial purpose," Lee said.
YouTube.com, which started in February 2005, allows users to post homemade and recorded videos, as well as comment on others' movies. According to the company's Web site, more than 70 million videos are now viewed on the site daily.
Lee said the location of filming affects whether ASU officials look into it.
"If there are videos being taken in people's dorm rooms and in classrooms ... we would take a heightened interest in that," he said.
For Residential Life policy violations, Lee said ASU's policy is the same for YouTube.com as it is for social networking sites.
"I don't think we would treat YouTube any differently than we would Facebook or MySpace," he said. "We won't actively go out searching for that, but if something is brought to our attention, we will investigate it."
Lee also said trademark issues would lead ASU officials to take a closer look at a video.
"The ASU name and logo is trademarked, so any individu als who use that name or logo in any context it becomes of concern to us," he said.
John Menard, a former ASU student who graduated in 2005, said he wasn't very concerned with possible disciplinary actions when he posted a video in April spoofing Parking and Transit Services.
Menard, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in secondary education, said he helped his roommate make the video for class.
"We decided to have some fun with it, knowing PTS was not the most-liked department on campus," he said.
Menard then posted the video for a friend working with SDTV Channel 2 who was trying to make a television show on short films by students.
Theresa Fletcher, the assistant director for PTS, said she had not seen the video, but was fine with satires of her department.
"Personally, I'm not offended if someone wants to spoof parking," she said. "If anyone has a strong opinion, they should certainly have the opportunity to voice [it]."
With YouTube.com's popularity growing, Menard said he sees the site as another way for people to express themselves.
"I think YouTube is just another outlet, and students, and really anybody, [are] going to do what they have to [do] to get their point across," Menard said. "YouTube is just another forum for students to get that across."
Reach the reporter at james.kindle@asu.edu
