To investigate the role that social media and privacy play in JC students’ lives, “The Patriot” created Heather Williams.

“The Patriot” created the Facebook profile for the fictional 16-year-old who recently moved from Portland, Oregon to Fallston, Maryland. According to the profile, Williams was in the process of transferring into the JC Class of 2012. Despite rumors, the administration was not involved with the experiment.

Tuesday, Feb. 1, “The Patriot” began a 24-hour experiment by creating Williams’s Facebook profile to collect data on the number of students willing to accept or request a stranger as a friend. The intent of the ongoing investigation is ultimately to inform students about the effects of social media and to explore the community reaction to online identities.

After establishing Williams’s profile, members of “The Patriot” staff began monitoring the number of friendship requests and confirmations. Staff members sent and received friend requests but did not initiate further contact with students.

Within 24-hours of launching Williams’s profile, 119 JC students — 16.3 percent of the student body — either requested or confirmed Williams’s Facebook friendship.

Forty minutes into the experiment, students began posting status updates and comments alleging a teacher or member of the administration created the profile with the intent of looking at students’ Facebook photo albums.

“It’s funny how John Carroll tries to make up people on Facebook and [tries] adding you as a friend to get you in trouble,” one student posted.

No members of the administration or JC staff members were involved in the investigation.

“The Patriot” deleted Williams’s profile following the 24-hour experiment.

“The Patriot” will continue to post updates online and in the upcoming print issue with more information on the investigation and the role of social networking. Click here to see a video of how students reacted to the news.