One year ago, Yik Yak was a relatively new and intriguing opportunity for students to be able to share their thoughts anonymously online. But since then, the app has become a valid source of concern for student safety.

A former Syracuse University student who currently lives in Syracuse was arrested and charged after posting an “alarming” message on Yik Yak, an anonymous social media app, according to a public safety email sent Wednesday night.

Although the email did not specify what the former student was charged with or what the post said, the arrest should spur reconsideration of the ways in which the university responds to threats made on Yik Yak as an online platform.

The app should not be banned on the SU campus, as doing so would be a slippery slope toward censorship, but the Department of Public Safety should consider taking appropriate safety precautions by monitoring user activity on Yik Yak.

While monitoring posts should not become a main focus for DPS, the department must remain conscious of the fact that addressing threats made online would be an effective measure in ensuring student safety at SU.

The department should not devote extra resources to monitoring the app and could have a scrolling screen kept open to display Yik Yak posts. DPS could also take overseeing the site one step further by setting up a system to catch key words that are associated with any measures that may be meant to instill fear or inflict harm on the student body.

Students also should be encouraged to report any concerning activity on the app, considering the Nov. 11 arrest was the result of a report made to DPS by an alarmed SU student. Because the university cannot immediately intervene with posts made online, it is ultimately up to users to report threatening activity — a move that can be supported by additional monitoring by DPS.

The Department of Public Safety cannot control what users post online, but it can ensure it is doing all that it can to keep up with the changing landscape of student safety by being aware of threats made on Yik Yak.

Published on November 12, 2015 at 1:28 am

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