editorial

Anonymous social app Yik Yak has been receiving a lot of attention on university campuses, including Emory’s. Responses range from the actual contributions posted to the app to the backlash by students regarding the stereotypes and problematic discourse used in posts targeting ethnic groups and individual students. We at The Emory Wheel find some posts on Yik Yak blatantly racist and cruel.

For readers who aren’t familiar with Yik Yak, the app is a way for users to post anonymous messages that can only be viewed by users within a small geographic area, such as those on a college campus. Users can comment on posts and up-vote or down-vote posts.

We do not necessarily blame the app itself – cyberbullying was not the intention of the creators. However, we are ashamed that some members of our community find it appropriate to post racist and sexist comments towards groups at Emory, and at times, target individual people by name under the veil of anonymity. We do not​ want to harp on the obvious, but these posts do truly hurt people, and it’s appalling that some of our own students are perpetuating egregious generalizations, stereotypes and the use of violent language.

While we realize that many of these posts are written in the spirit of fun and jokes, it’s important to contextualize the posts within the history of oppression and verbal cruelty at Emory and in the United States. Do we want to be a part of a community that represents a culture of harm? Should we continue a history of marginalization and oppression? Those who are posting such negative content to Yik Yak are participating in and advocating for a culture of insensitivity, as opposed to creating a culture of inclusivity and community-building. These actions are apparent forms of microaggression and what we say, even anonymously, represents our community as a whole. Many Emory students are using this app simply as a means to insult and harm people and entire populations, and as a community, we can do better than that.

Though some universities, such as Norwich University, have blocked access to Yik Yak, we understand the inevitability of the app’s usage on student phones and do not believe that it is inherently harmful. Anonymity on the internet can often be used for good, as an outlet for some who do not feel comfortable speaking out loud or to admonish harmful behavior without risking backlash. In an ideal society, this culture of insensitivity and blatant marginalization would not exist, but for now, Yik Yak users can actively protest against intolerant posts on the app. We encourage Emory students who participate actively or passively with the app to down-vote racist, sexist and overall harmful posts and to stand up to these anonymous posters. Additionally, since there have been some productive posts about our community, we encourage users to continue to post positive comments.

It’s important to have an outlet where we can use internet anonymity as a positive tool, where students can stand up to others without any reprisal or repercussions. We hope members of the Emory community who recognize these micro and macro aggressions do not passively stand by and allow such behavior to continue. We hope those members of our community who are participating in intolerance and harm will change their mindsets and ideologies. We hope everyone increases awareness on the harms that such comments and actions lead to and, ultimately, treat people as they deserve to be treated – as human beings.​

The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s editorial board.

+ posts

The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.

The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.