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New controversial craze on campus

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Bethany McDaniel, Viking Fusion News Producer

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Forty-eight hours ago a Facebook page titled Berry College Confessions was created and it has become a topic of popular discussion around campus.

The page allows students to submit anonymous wall posts where they can share their Berry experiences or quote confessions without revealing their identity.

Posted online just this Monday, the site has already received well over 500 likes and nearly 200 confessions with posts ranging from trivial and humorous to dark and controversial.

Almost immediately the page attracted some negative attention from students as well as administration.

Due to the page’s illegal usage of the Berry College Athletics logo, Berry College Confessions recently announced that they are looking for a new logo and within minutes were able to change it.

They also sent out a facebook post saying they will be much more diligent in terms of censoring and deleting offensive posts:

“Hey, Berry Community!

Being a new page, we’re still working with our moderators to iron out which confessions we allow to be posted. Some posts which, in hindsight, were deemed inappropriate have been removed, and we hope that you guys will remain patient with us as we work to make sure that no more harmful posts are made.

To help us out, please remember not to include names or extremely obvious descriptions of individuals in your confessions. Feel free to give a nickname, such as “T” or “A” or so on, but let’s keep this as anonymous as possible for all parties.

Berry College Confessions does not support cyber bullying, or bullying in any form.

Thanks for following!”

Many other schools such as UGA, Sanford and Auburn have similar sites; however, they seem to be more humorous and less controversial.

Dean Heida sent the following e-mail at 5:40 Wednesday afternoon regarding this issue:

Dear friends,
 
There has been significant conversation today about the Berry Confessions Facebook page.  These type of pages have been popping up across the country over the past few weeks.  They are not officially affiliated with the colleges they represent in any way.  I want to be clear in saying Berry does not censor Facebook.  I would, however, like to share a few cautions about the page in the hopes that it will foster campus dialogue in a positive way.
 
One of the things I love most about Berry is the caring student community.  One would not think we are so caring by reading the posts.  One of the things that anonymity encourages is both a lack of accountability for what is written but also a bit of a competitive spirit about who can write the most preposterous posting, regardless of truth.  There are some posts that are rude – a posture we discourage as a community that teaches and practices respect.  There are some posts that target individuals in ways that are mean spirited, also something that should greatly concern us as a campus community. 
 
As students, the solutions to this are in your hands.  While you may find the postings humorous, this is also a way that others are learning about your college and forming impressions about who we are and what we foster here (I have had more than one call from a prospective student and parent today expressing concern).  I encourage you to speak up about and let others know how you feel about posts that are demeaning and targeted.  Speak up about the way your college is being represented.  The best way to take on hateful speech is to speak out and I strongly urge you to do so.
 
Debbie Heida
 
Debbie E. Heida
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Berry College
2277 Martha Berry Highway, Box 495009
Mount Berry, GA  30149-5009
(706) 236-2207 (office)
(706) 290-2549 (fax)

 

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