Let’s Talk About Sex(ual Harassment): Yik Yak’s #MeToo Movement
As the anonymous posting app, Yik Yak, received a surge of usage through an on-campus revival, many students expected the basics: gossip, opinions, and jokes. What few Laurentians could have foreseen coming, though, was St. Lawrence’s own short-lived, mildly-received #MeToo movement. Although the app only has a portion of the campus utilizing it (I’d estimate 400-550 members, at most), students took to the anonymous message boards this weekend to share experiences at an off-campus establishment many students frequent.
Within a day or two, multiple posts had come forward regarding the behaviors of an older, newly-hired employee of this local business intimidating multiple (typically freshmen) women on campus. Claims were flung of this employee telling young girls who broke rules of the business that they’d be “arrested if they didn’t come back [after closing],” or “threatened with a $10k fine if they didn’t return.” Quickly following these posts, other students (presumably female), came forward with their own somewhat darker experiences about being sexually harassed by the same man.
“Boycott [redacted] they grab my friend’s a** without asking to grab a drink from her back pocket.”
“Went to the [employee] at [redacted] looking for my friend’s student ID and the entire time I was speaking his hand was on my a**.”
Initially, many of these posts about poor experiences with said employee received so many negative votes from the student body that they were taken down within minutes. It seemed as though a flood of students came forward to defend this stranger that multiple peers of theirs had alleged harassment from. “Grabbing your drink is different than grabbing your a**,“”please stop spreading rumors [that] can ruin people’s lives,” and “so you’re telling me that [the local business] isn’t the pinnacle of modern society and moral values? My perspective has been thoroughly body ROCKED ladies and gents…” were just a few comments made by users that seemed to downplay their fellow students’ experiences.
This immediate reaction from the student body called back to previous responses made on other posts throughout the weekend discussing sexual assault and sexual harassment allegations elsewhere on campus. Within the safety of posting anonymously, many students felt they had a space to come forward, if in a joking way, about experiences they’d had at St. Lawrence, whether they had to do with hookup culture or with specific, dominantly male campus organizations. These claims were typically far more ill-received, likely due to the fact that many of the accused organizations may have hosted users of Yik Yak themselves. On posts pointing out predatory behavior or assault accusations, comments were even harsher:
“Lotta empty yak accusations make one [in real life] u pus.”
“Don’t assume that everyone from [redacted] is evil. That’s just unfair. Some are bad but some are good, it’s very [unfair] and childish to generalize.”
“Hiding behind ur yak screen u wouldn’t show up at [redacted] saying that would you now.” “Women do not realize that they are just as predatory, if not worse, than men at SLU.”
This mode of reception to accusations, whether it be in relation to the local business in the spotlight or organizations on campus at large, shows a far deeper problem than just the action of harassment: it shows a disbelief in our female peers. At a university where rules of consent are instilled within the general student consciousness during orientation, it’s likely difficult for many on campus to believe that these problems could still exist. Thus, the immediate assumption is that the women who make these claims are lying, attempting to slander them, or trying to garner attention. However, on an app that’s completely anonymous, wherein multiple students have made claims or jokes about their own experiences, the latter two reasons fall short of credibility.
St. Lawrence University has a split consciousness between those who actively protect their fellow students and those who are willfully ignorant. As one user in defense of student claims put it, many members of the student body “only believe women until it’s inconvenient [for them.]” As a student active in party culture, I have seen and experienced on both a personal and social level students (both men and women) not only continuing to stay in relations with, but befriending men on campus that they know have sexual assault accusations, formal or otherwise. There are people I know who continue to post feminist infographics on their Instagram stories about consent, yet on that same account have photos and interactions with men they know are guilty of ignoring that same consent.
When people on Yik Yak cry, “name names,” they should know that their requests are hollow. It doesn’t matter to half the people on this campus if names are named. If students on Yik Yak will go to bat for employees they don’t know at businesses they frequent once a month, how are women on this campus supposed to feel safe opening a discourse about their own peers’ behavior? For clarity on the validity of these claims, we here at The Hill News ran a quick survey on Yik Yak.
“Upvote if you or someone you know at this school has had a [sexual assault] or sexual harassment experience on campus OR in Canton…”
Within two and a half hours, the post had reached 171 upvotes. Comments lamented that they wished they could have upvoted multiple times. If we apply this to the student population, that means that 1 in 14 students has either experienced or knows someone who has experienced assault or harassment on campus or locally.
It is also worth considering that, as previously mentioned, Yik Yak’s user base only represents about 16-22% of the actual campus population. Taking this into account, the statistic grows to resonate with over 1 in 3 Yik Yak users, not including those who weren’t online to see the post or didn’t read it through.
With statistics so high, what can be done to alter the culture on campus? I believe fervently that the problem lies primarily with the non-active student body and their reception to allegations and claims of sexual assault and harassment (although certainly with the perpetrators too). Until our fellow students can feel comfortable coming forward, there will be no true change in the culture of excused assault and harassment on campus. Until women stop befriending their friends’ rapists, until men stop letting their friends off easy, or welcoming these accused people into their organizations, until there is a culture of protection and acceptance for our female students and not their abusers, nothing will change. More often than not, I believe that the men on and off this campus absolutely understand the rules of consent. They just know that, because of a vast majority of students here, they will never be held accountable. Not by their friends, not by their organizations, not by their employers. And the victims of these abuses know that too. Thus, women stay silent, and NOTHING CHANGES.
Despite these flaws, there is hope seen among the Yik Yak boards. Students wrote harshly back to those defending the accused parties:
“Embarassed and ashamed to go to school with sexual assault apologists.”
“The sexual assault apologists on this campus are disgusting. We have to be better.” “…All of you are trash. You’re trying to blame a girl for being sexually assaulted?” “Not believing someone is almost agreeing that sexual assault is okay…”
Posts like these and many others chimed in to join the chorus of supportive peers. However, they seemed indistinguishably balanced with backlash towards victims as well. The way I see it, St. Lawrence is at a crossroads right now, and until we as students do something about it, the stalemate between victims, bystanders, and perpetrators will be never ending. The next time we, as students, hear accusations, our first instinct must be open to hearing out victims, and to supporting those who have been hurt; not jumping to the defense of men who, unless we are deeply, personally informed of their character, are fully capable of hurting others. We need to stop socially accepting organizations and establishments that are known for hurting others. And more than anything, we need to start believing our peers. Then, and only then, will we see a change.