president of thefacebook

2006-03-15T23:36:00.000-05:00

To celebrate a new beginning, the blog was moved to
http://prez.wordpress.com/
Please go to the new URL for new posts.

Thank you.

The Management

2005-07-08T20:20:00.000-04:00

I wish I could make this more amusing, but this is a sad time. One week ago today, on July 1, Hunter Rawlings assumed the position of Interim President of Cornell University. He will serve until a new President assumes offices. In his message, he wrote:

The past few weeks have been an unsettling period. President Lehman's resignation was an unfortunate event for many reasons, and it has generated lingering questions in our community because it came suddenly and without extensive explanation. As you may have read, President Lehman and the Board of Trustees have agreed that his and the institution's best interests will be served by foregoing more open discussion. Despite the understandable frustration that creates, I am confident that they have acted in the university's interests.

The resignation news left the Cornell community with many questions. Many of them will probably never be answered. The future of Jeffrey Lehman's Thefacebook profile is not one of those. It will cease to be active. For the sake of historical value, it will not be deleted, but any new friend requests will be denied. More importantly, the link to this blog will be added to the profile. This will be the final change. Everyone deserves to see the information presented here and perhaps learn from it. This was an interesting experiment, but everything must come to an end. I surely hope no one will be too disappointed.

Now may be the best time to look back. Jeffrey Lehman's profile was created in May 2004. Almost exactly one year ago, on July 5, 2004, it received a first message. Since then, many more would be sent. Many friend requests would be sent as well. When the last friend was accepted today, the friend count was at 1616 in addition to 22 at schools other than Cornell. Given that this blog is now very public, the friend count may drop a bit.

On a side note, this high-profile profile revealed at least one flaw plaguing Thefacebook. As you gain more friends, the number becomes less accurate. If you compare the counts on "My Profile" and "My Friends", the numbers may differ. As I climbed over 1000, the difference reached double digits. And in case you are wondering, out-of-school friends were not overlooked when comparing the numbers.

To sum things up, the Jeffrey Lehman profile is done. It's over. This blog will continue its existence and new posts may be added. If you are really interested in this matter, feel free to come back. If you have something to say, leave a comment here or drop me a line at redprez@gmail.com.

P.S.: Thefacebook is still missing Hunter Rawlings. What a travesty!

2005-07-07T22:46:00.000-04:00

It was interesting to get a message like no other today. D.Y. '05 sent me one in French:

Cher Monsieur President,
Je ne sais pas si vous vous souvenez de moi, mais j'etais la coordinatrice de Prepare votre premiere annee, et je suis venue parler a vous a Slope Day, et on a meme une photo ensemble devant Willard Straight Hall. Comme vous, je suis allee en France ma troisieme annee a Cornell. En tout cas, c'est triste que vous ne serez plus president de Cornell, parce qu'en tant que Cornelliens on etait content d'avoir un president qui etait aussi un ancien etudiant. Bon, je vous souhaite bonne chance, et j'espere qu'on se croisera un jour, qui sait?
Tres cordialement,
D*** Y***, Class of 2005
PS: Je suis une assistante de recherche a Washington, au "Washington Institute for Near East Policy" et si jamais vous etes a Washington, je serai tres contente de vous inviter chez moi pour un dejeuner ou diner avec votre famille.

I guess this means I know French. You learn new things every day. For those of you who are not as bright as me, I asked AltaVista's Babel Fish for a translation. The result is far from perfect, but you don't have to be a genius to understand the meaning:

Dear Mr President, I do not know if you remember me, but I etais the coordinator of Prepare your premiere year, and I came to speak has has you Slope Day, and one has same a photo unit in front of Willard Straight Hall. Like you, I am allee in France my third year has Cornell. In any case, it is sad which you will not be a any more president de Cornell, because as Cornelliens one etait glad to have a president who etait also old etudiant. Good, I wish you good luck, and I espere which one will cross one day, which knows?
Very cordially
D*** Y***, Class of 2005
PS: I am an assistant of research has Washington, in "Washington Institute for Near East Policy" and if ever you etes has Washington, I will be very glad to invite you at home for a dejeuner or dinner with your family.

It's great to have connections all over the world.

2005-06-18T11:14:00.000-04:00

The Cornell campus was shocked with the recent resignation news. The impact was felt on Thefacebook as well. In the days following the announcement, several messages came in from concerned students and alumni.

A.R. '09 could only come up with:

we're going to miss you

S.H. '03 asked:

Any insights on why you are leaving so suddenly?

M.C. '04 managed to write more than one sentence:

It will be sad to see you go, Jeffrey. I only wish I knew what the overriding issues were between you and the Board. This is disappointing.

M

These are sad times indeed. I wonder what will become of my profile.

2005-06-10T19:03:00.000-04:00

Looks like someone listened at the commencement. L.R. '05 sent me this:

Dear President Lehman,

I just thought it would be fun for you to know that ever since graduation, the topics of your speech have been permeating every conversation that I've had. All of the sudden, tunnel vision is everywhere! But I'm trying to beware of the dark side;).

Thanks for everything,
L***

I think I just met my biggest fan.

2005-05-16T14:38:00.000-04:00

A landmark again. 1500 friends and counting.

Despite no major breaks since 1250, the last batch of 250 has taken the longest time to form. It took 76 days.

Just how fast have new friend requests dropped in recent times? 500 was reached on October 16, followed by 1000 on December 16, and 1500 on May 16 (it seems that the 16th is a good day for these things). The slowdown is painfully obvious.

2005-05-07T13:13:00.000-04:00

Some grad student from a different school sent me a message:

If your really the president of Cornell i just want to have you add me as a friend so I can say i have a college president on my friend list. If your fake then its ok

OK...

2005-05-03T20:24:00.000-04:00

From: The Pony
To: Jeffrey Lehman '77
Subject: Please get out your old records.
Message: If you have ever listened to Joni Mitchell, especially "Big Yellow Taxi," and you are still going to PAVE PARADISE for a PARKING LOT, I am convinced you don't have a soul. What kind of president are you?

I also don't exist, but that's a whole different story.

2005-04-19T21:16:00.000-04:00

I love letters, especially the ones with great subject lines. F.W. '05 had one that screamed "Wow. I can't believe i'm writing a letter to the prez." I couldn't believe it either. We are at one of the top universities in the world and I get these things somewhat frequently. Who is in charge of admissions around here?

The message this time is rather touching. I almost felt like not making it public, but I decided not to make exceptions. If I can see it, so should anyone else.

Anyway, here it is:

I bet you get that subject line often!

Hi, I’m F***. So I have a question. I am a transfer student to Cornell. My tragic but heroic journey started with a 30hr bus ride all the way from Norman, OK to Ithaca for my interview. I love this school and I have supported myself financially through out my education. So now it's senior year for me and well, i had so much stuff to pay for that I couldn't buy a ring. Now I know, I know, you must get hit up for money all the time, but maybe you could put me in touch with someone. I don't need anything fancy, just the traditional, cheapest karat gold Cornell ring. If you have any ideas that might point me in the right direction as far as funds are concerned I would appreciate it. So thanks a lot in advance!

P.S. I'm in an a cappella group called ***. We would love for you to come to our concert on April 30th!

Do you really want to hear my suggestion?

2005-04-03T21:37:00.000-04:00

Three messages in one week? You better believe it. People must be getting bored.

One of the newest members of Thefacebook, L.L. '05, writes:

Hello President Lehmann,

Hope this finds you well. I know you're an incredibly busy man, but I'd greatly appreciate if you could share your opinion of facebook with me. I'm a senior in ILR, recently introduced to the world of facebook, and I've decided to write my persuasive speech for COM301 on the importance of joining. I'd love to hear your view of facebook--thoughts, concerns, anything! Thanks in advance, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
L***

Given that I am an "incredibly busy man", I am not sure I can be very helpful.

2005-04-03T21:25:00.000-04:00

Oh goody! Another message. M.L. '07 pleads:

Hi President Lehman,
Redbud woods is my backyard. It is home to a unique mix of species and is a small yet sacred place. Please don't tear it apart and cover it with blacktop. Please seriously explore alternatives.
Thanks
M*** L***

Yeah, I'll put that on top of my agenda. Seriously, though, what the f*** are you talking about? Are we playing Cornell trivia? Redbud woods? What kind of woods can be replaced by a parking lot? Cornell is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless forest. If you get rid of a couple of trees, the world will not come to an end. I would be more concerned about the Cornell Fund investing billions of dollars into corporations that are dumping tons of chemicals into the atmosphere.

2005-03-31T21:15:00.000-05:00

I was beginning to think my profile was broken. L.S. '08 reminded me I was just delirious:

Hiya President Lehman! Randomly saying hi!

Considering I only got one message all year before this, I am somewhat disappointed. This is all she could come with? I deserve more respect than that.

2005-03-01T09:18:00.000-05:00

Another landmark! 1250 friends.

Things are definitely slowing down, though. It took 75 days to get here from 1000, which comes out to only 3.4 per day on average. Of course there were a couple weeks of winter break, but that should not have slowed down the rate that much.

I think that people are simply getting tired of this. I know I am.

2005-02-09T10:17:00.000-05:00

Things have really slowed down lately. Maybe people are becoming more cautious. K.R. '04 writes:

Are you really the prez, or are you like those faux Donald Trump and Paris Hilton pages? If you're really him, then I want to challenge you to a game of Monopoly! I have Lord of the Rings monopoly, and I'm pretty good myself, so I want to see if you can beat me! Also, my frat is having a kick-ass Mardi Gras party this Saturday, so you should come check us out!

Running a major university is such a bore. If it was not for Thefacebook and frat parties, I don't think I could live through it all. I just need to find some beads now.

2005-01-01T13:46:00.000-05:00

Happy 2005 everyone!

In the last week or so, I have been bombarded with holiday greetings. Unfortunately, all of the messages seem to be sent to multiple recipients rather than personally to me. I wonder how long it will take before people start to really abuse that feature and it is removed. Well, here is a small sampling.

M.O. '06 (12/20):

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to wish you all very Happy Holidays!
I left Cornell early and didn't get to say goodbye to all of you, but I hope finals went well and that no one felt the urge to jump! Even if you did, it's all over now and I'm sure it feels great. ;)

I'm going to be in London in the spring so I won't see many of you for a while. For all my senior friends, I'll miss you.

Have a wonderful break and get some sleep!

Take care,
M***

P.W. '08 (12/24):

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it... Everyone else... enjoy the holiday that the stinkin Christians gave us... hehe...

Anyhoo... have a fun filled day and don't go doing stupid things... That would be bad...

M.K. '06 (12/24):

Please check all that apply:
A). Merry Christmas!
B). Happy (belated) Hannukah!
C). Crazy Kwanza!
D). A Solemn Ramadan.
E). And a Happy New Year

...and as the Subject line says, Happy Holidays...

-M***

U.I. '07 (12/25):

Hey guys, I just wanted to wish you all a merry christmas/ hanukah and a very happy new year. Take care and God bless!!

Holla at ya boy

What really impressed me about the messages is the level of political correctness despite the vast majority being sent on Christmas Eve or Christmas. Am I the only one who senses some irony in that?

2004-12-23T13:18:00.000-05:00

A compliment from Q.G. '04:

Hello, I ve not met you before, but I'd like to compliment you on the way that you are handling your presidency of the university. I have gotten a great impression of you; it seems like yo are a very down to earth person, and you are willing to listen to what everyone has to say. I just graduated in december, but I will be back in May for the graduation ceremony, hopefully I will get to meet you then and thank you in person. I love Cornell, and I am confident that you will steer it in the right direction. Keep doin what youre doin -Q*** G*** '05

He is definitely confused about his year, even contradicting his own profile. But then again, that is obviously not the only thing he is confused about judging by his messages.

2004-12-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

Lehman finally hits 1,000 friends. Next milestone is 10,000, which will most likely be unachievable if I continue the policy of relying only on others to make friend requests.

It's interesting to note that the requests have already begun to slow down. It took 38 days to collect the last 250 friends, which comes out to only 6.6 per day on average. While this is still a decent number, it is a big drop from 10.9 for the third batch of 250 and 7.6 for the second. It would be interesting to determine if the friend count slowly approaching a limit or if people's attitudes towards Thefacebook are changing.

2004-11-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

A flattering message from J.D. '08:

I think seeing you on campus is like being the presence of a celebrity. Hope you're having a great day! - J***

And to tell the truth, I feel like a celebrity too.

2004-11-16T21:45:00.000-05:00

Inspired A.N. '05 wrote today:

President Lehman,
I just want to let you know that your iniatives for Cornell like the 'Call to Engagement' are truly inspiring. I truly feel like I am in a place with the brightest future, and feel lucky to be part of it.Congratulations.

When you have friends in high places, the future is bright indeed.

2004-11-12T09:25:00.000-05:00

I logged in to find: "You have a request from M*** C*** to add them as your significant other." Cute.

2004-11-08T01:12:00.000-05:00

Lehman hits 750 friends. It took 23 days to gain the last 250. That averages out to 10.9 daily, a significant improvement over the previous group of 250.

2004-11-05T01:43:00.000-05:00

One of the more touching messages:

Hi President Lehman,

My name is M*** and I'm a junior in Arts and Sciences. I've been thinking a lot about what I would like to do once I graduate in 2006 and the possibility of law school has come up a number of times. I know you have a law degree and (I assume) you have worked on the more academic side of law. Would it be possible for me to meet with you to discuss your experiences in law school and beyond? I think it would really help me a lot.

Thanks so much,
M*** O*** '06

2004-11-01T01:39:00.000-05:00

A curious young man M.B. '08 writes:

Hi,
Is this actually Jeff Lehman? Or is it someone else?

Thanks,
M*** B***

And what if I am? Or not?

2004-10-21T01:27:00.000-04:00

Y.S. '06 shares her feelings:

I just wanted to say I love that you have a facebook page.

2004-10-16T01:50:00.000-04:00

A little bit over a month passed and the friend count has doubled to 500, which averages out to 7.6 a day. Considering the fact there must be people removing me every once in a while, the number of daily friend requests must be slightly higher.

2004-09-23T01:21:00.000-04:00

A letter from an alumnus:

Hi President Lehman,

I have had the pleasure of meeting you at a variety of events ( I presented the Service and Philanthropy portion of the Greek Community Call to Engagement), so I do hope that you remember me. I just wanted to let you know that I think it is very progressive and extremely wonderful that you are on the facebook. It is a splendid way to really connect with the students!

Best,

J*** K*** '04

If only I did not feel it is wrong for me to message people, I would definitely be doing a lot more connecting with the students.

2004-09-17T01:14:00.000-04:00

Finally a letter from someone not a freshman. H.Z. '07:

President Lehman, my name is H*** Z*** and I am currently running for Transfer Representative -Student Assembly. I would love if you could somehow endorse me, over facebook is fine. Just by putting Vote H*** in your profile or by emailing the whole school, any way would be nice. If not, I understand completley! Have a nice day,
-H*** Z***, class of 2007

If only there was a way I could email the entire school.

2004-09-13T01:08:00.000-04:00

I finally acquired 250 friends. Although I hardly requested any new friends recently, I still get plenty of requests from others. At this point, however, I will stop completely. Every friend I gain from now on will not be requested by me. It should be interesting to see how many I can gain while putting in absolutely no effort.

2004-09-09T01:03:00.000-04:00

A great message from A.W. '08:

Hello, Pres. Lehman -

I'm a freshman A&S Dean's Scholar from Arkansas, and I wanted to thank you for your engaging remarks at convocation. I still hear comments about Zoolander, even now. But apart from that, thanks for encouraging us to explore.

As a prospective religious studies major, it's consoling to know that a math major could end up being president of Cornell! So perhaps studying religions isn't so useless after all, even though my parents probably wonder why the tuition is going towards courses such as classical fencing, Italian, and introduction to cryptology this semester...

Cute email address. I like that: el presidente.

2004-09-08T23:08:00.000-04:00

Second message from E.R. '08:

yo prez,

it's e*** r***. i had a few spare moments in between my homework, so i'm just saying hey, cause you show up first on my "friends" list. school is sweet. My teacher for my frosh writing seminar, cultural studies, is K*** P***. He is a fantastic professor. Well anyways, hope your day has been going well

yours,
E*** R***

2004-08-25T17:35:00.000-04:00

E.R. '08 writes:

hey prez lehman,

It's E*** R*** here. I decided that I wanted to add you as my friend because I could use a few friends in some high places. I'm in arts and sciences and I'm undecided. Everything is going fantastically so far. Orientation has been very smooth. If you have some spare time ever, i'd like to take you on in some Monopoly. I wanna see your skills in action. Anyway, i'll catch you later el presidente.

He also left his dorm address.

2004-08-18T17:32:00.000-04:00

V.P. '08 writes:

My name is V*** and I'm an incoming freshman at Cornell. I'm really looking forward to studying up in Ithaca and was wondering if you could give me a tip or two for the year ahead, you being the president of the school and all.

2004-07-24T16:38:00.000-04:00

Y.M. '08 writes:

I can't believe you're on the facebool. Your awesome!

I am flattered. Although I wish Ivy League students would make less than one spelling mistake per sentence.

2004-07-24T16:23:00.000-04:00

J.K. '08 writes:

Hi Mr. Lehman. My name is J*** and I am an incoming freshman. Just wanted to give you a shout out before I actually see you in person in a few weeks. Until then, have a great summer!

And I am very excited to see you soon too...

2004-07-16T16:14:00.000-04:00

Another message!

O.M. '05 writes:

Dear President Lehman,
I think it's great that you're on the facebook.com! I've been studying abroad in Paris all year, so I have not yet had the privlege to be on campus under your presidency. But I hope the first year went well for you, and welcome back to CU!
Sincerely,
O*** M*** '05

I am starting to think people might be taking Thefacebook a little too seriously.

2004-07-05T16:06:00.000-04:00

I finally received a message. Since this was a private message, I will not reveal names in this blog. You never know who might be upset to see their name on the Internet.

G.H. '08 writes:

Who says it doesn't pay to have friends in high places! Thrilled to be on-board and call Cornell home for the next four years!

2004-05-20T15:35:00.000-04:00

No profile on Thefacebook is complete without friends, especially for someone as important to the Cornell community as Jeffrey Lehman. In the following weeks I shall send friend requests to various students. I do not intend to become a friend with everyone, but this experiment must start somewhere. I have no idea what will happen in the long run. We’ll see.

2004-05-20T01:00:00.000-04:00

Thefacebook is a place where people of all walks of life come together, where anyone can be a star. Today I joined as well. I will coexist alongside Paris Hilton, Donald Trump, Dirk Nowitzki, and Lil Jon. My name is Jeffrey Lehman and this is the story of my life on Thefacebook.