The Dean of St John’s is suspected of using Facebook to find and discipline students. He has targeted those he feels have gone too far in the recent Hall wine allowance debate.

Using the fake account name Pedro Amigo, Peter Linehan is thought to have viewed a number of anti-College posts made on a wall set up to protest against the new limit on alcohol in Hall.

The JCR became suspicious when the Dean of College suddenly began summoning the students who had been most outspoken on Facebook to his office last week. It was when a student typed Linehan’s Hermes e-mail address into the ‘Find Friends’ search bar that they found the profile of the mysterious Pedro.

Despite being a member of the Cambridge network, the account appears to have no friends and no picture. The name, which translates as ‘Peter Friend’ in Spanish, shows a command of linguistics and history in keeping with Linehan’s field of expertise, the history of medieval Spain and Portugal, while recalling the Dean’s initials, P.A.L.

Speaking to Varsity, Linehan said: “If a Dean of John’s wanted to gain information on the student body, he would be wise not to use a forum as public as Facebook to do so.” However, he declined expressly to deny or confirm any connection to the account.

There has been protest by the student body at the College ever since it announced its new rule on alcohol in Hall. Until this year, students could bring one bottle of wine to Formal Hall. Under the new rule, diners are limited to two glasses of wine per meal, provided by the College.

To join a university network on Facebook, users need an institutional e-mail account. The Facebook policy on fake accounts clearly states that the use of fake names is a violation of the terms of use.

Craig Hogg