Yik Yak, a new social media app, recently found its way onto DePauw University students’ smartphones.
The app allows users to post 200 character “yaks” about whatever they want (as long as yaks abide by the Terms and Conditions) under complete anonymity. On Yik Yak’s website, the Terms and Conditions go into detail about what cannot be in a yak: harassment, pornography, racism, defamation and illegality, to name a few. “The Rules” section of the app itself is more vague. The biggest no-no is cyberbullying. Both rule one and two ban that. Rule number three is don’t post phone numbers. The final ban, number four, bans offensive yaks, but it doesn’t specify what constitutes an offensive yak.
People have mixed feelings about Yik Yak. School administrators are concerned about cyberbullying, despite the app’s bans. Middle and high schools across the nation have banned the app on their campuses. Norwich University in Vermont banned access to the app over university WiFi due to cyberbullying, according to a USA Today-College article from Sept. 24. College students using the app, however, don’t see these issues. In this issue, The DePauw reported that students on our campus think the app is good way to find out what’s happening on campus, share jokes and ultimately, become more unified. Yaks like “Division 3 sports. Division 1 squirrels,” “Purposefully stepping on all the leaves in Holton because FALL” and “Greek fair for sororities tonight!!! :D” support students’ opinions.
But for all the harmless ‘yaks’ on the feeds surrounding DePauw, there are just as many harmful ones. Yaks like “Yes I am thirsty. Sunday I’m thirsty for water. Monday-Wednesday I’m thirsty for sleep. Thursday-Saturday I’m thirsty for b*tches and booze” reveal the party culture that’s prevalent on our campus. “To the girl who smiled at me while going through the gcpa – did not know music majors were sexy” points to the subtle yet real divide that exists between the CLA and music school, and “How much can’t could a white girl can’t if a white girl couldn’t even can’t” reveal the issues of privilege and inequality still prevalent in our society.
This editorial board isn’t here to pass judgment on Yik Yak. Rather, we would like to challenge our classmates to think about what they’re posting, anonymous or otherwise. When prospective students come to DePauw, they can see every yak we post, assuming they have the app. Are we displaying the DePauw University we want visitors to see?
Our yaks depict the culture of our university, with all its positives and negatives. We can do two things with the culture Yik Yak shows us. We can say, “It’s fine this way” and do nothing, or we can look at the picture we’re shown of our community, decide the negatives are unacceptable and do something about them.
