The term “free speech” often gets thrown around to make some point or another without analysis of the actual impact it can have on people. Oppression, tyranny, and other negative systems are all justifications used to compel the induction of free speech into all facets of life–even if there are serious arguments in favor of removing some types of speech or at least limiting their influence. To explore how unlimited free speech impacts our community at Andrews, I interviewed three individuals about their thoughts on social media pages such as ‘AU Confessions,’ an Instagram page with over 1000 followers that seeks to give a platform for students to write about issues they are concerned with anonymously. While in concept, this seems good, a place for free speech to flourish, I wanted to ascertain the opinions current students have on access to a platform where anyone can send in posts on any topic they desire.
“I think that throughout my time at Andrews, these sorts of pages have been interesting to read, but it’s not like they are an integral part of my life or what I discuss with others in person. Sure, I think having a public forum where issues can be discussed is a good thing, but I honestly don’t see how big of a deal any of this is.”
Ian Moore (graduate, seminary)
“I think that AU Confessions and other media sources are generally a good thing. Sure, I think that there should be some limit on what they are allowed to post or not, but overall, they are doing well. I believe students absolutely need a place where they can talk about issues without fear of reproach due to identification. If pages like AU Confessions didn’t exist, there would be no way to discuss important issues in a safe space. There are certainly some bad things that can come from anonymous posting, but personally, I feel it doesn’t outweigh the benefits such a space can bring.”
Taka Nozaki (junior, behavioral science)
These two responses indicate two general opinions on the impact of such social media sites, but for the last response, I wanted to get a personal perspective. In that regard, I found someone who had something posted on one of these sites without their approval to try and explore how that might make someone feel.
What are your thoughts on sites like AU Confessions?
“I can see both sides of the issue. I think that having a place where people can discuss things openly is good, but I can also see how having that place open to literally any topic can be harmful. People used to talk mostly about serious issues, but now most of what I see is people talking about who they are attracted to.”
Claudius Emilaire (junior, digital communication)
Claudius, you told me that you had been mentioned by someone on AU Confessions before. Did that change your opinion on any of this?
“I think in some ways it has to. I used to think of sites like that as just funny pages to read about people's complaints, but now I see how they could be potentially used for bad things. In my case, the whole situation was more of a joke than anything serious. Still, I know that others feel uncomfortable with people talking about them on these sites, especially if it is a comment objectifying them.”
To some, pages like ‘AU Confessions,’ ‘AU Hood,’ or any other variation are harmless. They are merely a place for students to let off steam about their issues. Still, there is also clearly a trend, especially recently, where these forums have been used to objectify others. I revisited a few of these places and found many anonymous posts about how attractive people were finding their fellow students, teachers, or other faculty members. Posts talking about how hot another student is, how ‘excited’ one contributor got when looking at a faculty member, and more were all part of the objectifying nature of some of the comments. There was even one post where the poster alleged that they and their professor had intimate relations. Once again, this is all anonymous and unconfirmable, but it is still alarming, to say the least.
An open forum is a good thing, opening lines of communication between students and the school. But at what point do we consider the ramifications of opening such a forum to any topic under the sun? In many online spaces, there is a moderator of sorts. However, on a page like this where the account owner claims to “post everything”, what are the controls? Should there be a limit to the types of speech allowed on such pages?I don’t have all the answers, but it is clear to me that this is just the beginning of a much larger discussion that needs to happen surrounding such issues.
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.