Anonymous confessions an identifiable issue

Shane Wade
Opinion Editor

Scrolling through the many rants, rambling comments and pseudo-confessions, I grew steadily more embarrassed. It was like reading a 16-year-old’s diary; my peers, people who are essentially adults, displayed a level of pettiness and immaturity I hadn’t seen since high school.

Three words describe to latest Facebook craze of college confession pages: casually entertaining cesspools.

Fortunately, I know what I see on the VCU Confessions page is a minority of voices and not a true reflection of the VCU community. As insincere as this may sound, I take pride in the diversity of our community and the near-apathetic disinterest students hold toward what more conservative parts of Virginia would call “deviants.” We’re self-centered in the best possible way.

Unfortunately, it is a vocal minority. Because it’s an open forum, any Facebook user, including alumni, prospective students and families and potential employers can view both the anonymous post and the un-anonymous commenters.

Freedom of speech is our most important right and those who exercise it find their own reward within it. But by advertising the page as its administrators have, they assert an egregious falsehood that harms the reputation of both the university and the student body. Most people don’t want to be associated with posts describing criminal acts committed against unsuspecting roommates.

Students at Loras College, a Catholic college in Iowa with a student population around 1,500, felt properly affronted by their school’s confession page and petitioned their administration to take action. Thirteen hours after its inception, it was brought down.

While that course of action is entirely feasible for VCU’s administration, it could likely backfire on the university if done without student support.

Whether VCU’s administration has grievances against the page, however, is almost irrelevant; VCU students themselves should be leading the charge against a forum that seeks to scandalize by exploiting the freedom of animosity.

If given a blank canvas and a mask, anyone can quickly descend into a disinhibition that includes cyberbullying and hate speech. If nothing else, that’s what VCU Confessions has taught us.

In spite of all this, I do genuinely feel that the VCU student community can turn the page into a meaningful depository by acting and posting as people with identities and less like unrestrained and unapologetic ranters.

Individuals should be encouraged to voice candid opinions under the guise of anonymity, but realize that what you perceive to be an edgy, unpopular opinion has layers and dimensions to it, even if you don’t see them. When confronted with these multitudes, humble reactions provoke a dialogue, while rash reactions provoke a fight. Too often, we equate online anonymity with online animosity.

Remember, you’re not limited to blog posts, Facebook statuses or embarrassing forums if you want to express your feelings about VCU-related issues.

If you have a desire to offer well-written, well-reasoned, solid and articulate opinions about VCU, student issues, life in Richmond or why a degree in photography has value in today’s modern economy (or any matters that go beyond sexual proclivities), there’s an entire section of your student newspaper to do that.