School gossip pages and platforms are something that most students see on television in teenage dramas. Yik Yak is a controversial app used by students at the University of West Florida and within the Pensacola community to discuss various topics of campus life.
Yik Yak allows users to make anonymous posts that can be seen by others within a five-mile radius. This proximity means that students on or near campus can post and view comments relevant to their area.
Yik Yak’s reputation is often questioned due to controversy and is banned from multiple universities nationwide. In 2017, the app was shut down due to occurrences of cyberbullying, harassment and racism.
However, the app was relaunched in 2021 with supposed “community guardrails” to limit the problems that resulted in the app’s original failure. These new guidelines cause users who violate them to be immediately banned.
Regardless, users are confused about where exactly the line is drawn for harmful comments on the platform. A user within the immediate UWF community started a thread of arguments about economic systems.
“The only good communist is a dead communist,” commented the user. This comment was voted into the negative range, showing that other users disagree or find this statement unnecessary.
Although there are differing opinions on whether or not Yik Yak should be allowed on campus, many users discuss subjects such as campus events and college-related struggles which can be helpful to fellow students.
There are tabs labeled as different categories that users can post to or view their desired content. These categories include dining hall fails, roommate rants, worst of Canvas, confessions and more.
One user decided to voice feelings about the current parking situation on campus.
“Parking is a menace to society,” commented the user. “150 a year for a pass that only covers one lot. 20-dollar tickets left and right. Yet, no parking spots.”
Students often give their anonymous opinions about common campus issues on Yik Yak and gain support from other users who may have similar problems or opinions.
Universities take different stands regarding the individual campus regulations on the use of Yik Yak. According to the Associated Press, Norwich University banned Yik Yak through the college’s computer systems. Students can access Yik Yak using personal cellular data and WiFi, but it cannot be accessed using school WiFi.
However, many other universities view the banning of Yik Yak as a form of censorship. Cyberbullying and threats on the app are thought to be controlled by Yik Yak rather than individual universities.
Although Yik Yak is an anonymous platform, the police can still find users who pose a threat to the community. Even though the names of users are not public within the app, the source can be traced by law enforcement. Threats on the platform are taken seriously by police.
Currently, Yik Yak is fully accessible to UWF students with the campus WiFi and personal devices. Students can continue to post and communicate anonymously about campus life. Users should be aware that hurtful comments can be posted on the platform, so an amount of caution is advised.
