Duke stands by Yik Yak as other schools move to restrict

As a number of university administrations across the nation take action against Yik Yak, Duke stands by its current policies on the anonymous student forum.

In response to complaints about racist and sexist comments on Yik Yak, colleges such as Clemson University are taking steps to restrict the application's use on campus. Duke administrators, however, said it is up to individual students to take legal action against Yik Yak if they feel threatened. This remains in line with the University's previous stance on anonymous forums, such as JuicyCampus and CollegiateACB.

"Individuals who feel that they have been harmed in any way are always free to consult with their own legal advisors," said Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs.

Moneta said that the University does not support censorship of any kind, even when the content on forums such as Yik Yak is offensive—adding that the correct response is to bring forward more appropriate information.

As recent controversies on campus have led to inflammatory comments on the forum, students remain divided on its role.

Sophomore Maggie Locke noted that Yik Yak has the potential to be both a positive and negative force on campus. Although some of the posts are humorous, negative comments about specific individuals can be harmful, Locke said.

"Sometimes, students post negative comments about people and professors, and it's like, 'Oh, okay,'" she said. "Most don't name names, but you can kind of tell. They give the specifics of what that person is doing."

Sophomore Logan Carmody noted that some comments have been targeted against certain identities on campus.

"As a member of the greek community, I think we're victimized a little bit," Carmody said.

Yik Yak provides students with a space to say something they normally would not without fear of judgment, noted junior Nick Curran. Even though some of the comments on the forum may be more negative than others, they, at most, poke fun at certain fraternities, sororities and selective living groups, he said.

Duke has been confronted with controversies surrounding anonymous forums in the past. JuicyCampus, an anonymous online forum, was created by a former Duke student to circulate campus gossip. The forum was replaced by CollegiateACB, which shut down in 2014 following negative media attention.

Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek encouraged students who felt harmed by such forums to seek help—but noted that the University had little control over content on Yik Yak.

Wasiolek added that it would be fruitless for a university to gain traction in a legal case against anonymous forums because as soon as one is deleted, another takes its place. The most that the University can do to prevent harmful comments from being spread on such forums is to discourage their use in the first place, she said.

“There’s really nothing that a university can do other than encourage a student not to use them,” Wasiolek said. “If [students] don’t use them, they don’t exist."


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