I am sure many of you, particularly if you are a student, have recently read Dean Faehner’s announcement regarding how the code of conduct also applies to online forums and what is expected of a true Christian to behave like. It is no surprise, however, as pages like @fizzandrews or @au.teatime have risen in popularity in the last couple of months. These pages, in a few words, represent a side of the student body that is rarely seen on campus: the wild side.
This is nothing new with campus confession spaces (offline and online) have been existing for years already. Recent predecessors of confession pages at Andrews include the Instagram @au_confessions_ account. Spectrum Magazine covered the topic in the context of Adventist education almost three years ago, yet the landscape and evolution of those pages, particularly at Andrews, are quite concerning from a Christian point of view. And maybe, just maybe, it is the result of two great needs from students: to have drama (or fun), and to speak whatever they want without facing consequences. That, dear readers, is called gossiping.
Drama seems to be fun; otherwise, people would not get involved in it or become spectators. In the context of anonymous submissions, there is the adrenaline rush of how others will react, or how nervous but excited you feel about sharing something that, in another context, you might never say in public (or at least not without facing consequences). Yet, what do we really gain from it? Sure, you might feel like your college life in the middle of southwest Michigan might be boring most of the time, but that does not automatically give anyone the right to create something that has even a light risk of being more harmful than positive.
Do not leave yet, because there is more to explore. This article is not meant to accuse you as a sinner who will die in hell, but rather to discuss and think: What are we actually doing?
The fact that anonymous submission places have increased significantly among colleges is also due to people not feeling safe to speak in a particular place—even though such anonymous spaces ultimately are not safe anyway. That should ring an alarm for administration, because it might look like town halls and even places like The Student Movement are not enough for people to voice their concerns, opinions and experiences. Why is it that students might feel afraid to speak up? That is something that only they can answer. Or it could also be indifference, since it might seem that, even after voicing concerns, nothing changes.
Aside from it, the nature of gossiping is its own matter for discussion. Gossip, particularly the one that spreads rumors and bad comments, is something hard to give up on. Nobody is exempt from it, I am quite sure. Yet we keep doing it because it feels good, as Proverbs 18:8 says. We love to laugh at comments or cringe at lewd posts, yet we keep waiting on them. It is natural to us as humans, but it does not mean it is good for the community at large, even if communities are built around gossiping. Now, I am not your moral compass to force you to keep doing it or not (even while the code of conduct exists and can be applied to you as long as you are on campus), but I want you to make sure you know what it means to be involved in it.
When it comes to concerns or even simple questions, asking them through anonymous means might work, but it is not the best. There are other places you can look to voice out your concerns, whether it is through emails, op-eds, or just talking face to face—you never know, maybe you can make some friends on the way. But when it comes to talking about riskier topics, particularly when judging other people, it is good to be reminded that such things lead to things that we do not actually desire to have on campus, yet we feed them until they come to be. Things like cyberbullying, lack of safety, and creation of undesired hierarchies can happen just because a group of people decided to have fun. And online platforms not only make it easier, but turn it worse.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.