Mocs News Reporting the news that matters most to UTC
By Delaney Holman
Yik Yak is an app commonly used by college students to connect with other students at their university. The app allows students to anonymously post messages within a radius that is often college campuses.
This social media is currently being used by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga student body.
With posts ranging from anything about student inside jokes and lore about the Yellow Deli on campus to organizing parking protests. The UTC Yik Yak group is alive and busy, averaging an anonymous student-made post approximately every ten to 30 minutes.
The app that first launched in 2014 was originally short-lived as it was shut down in 2017. The shutdown was caused by several controversies including abuse, racial threats, and digital security issues. The app was relaunched in 2021, but the anonymous nature of Yik Yak has caused the social media app to continue to fall into controversy.
The University of North Carolina System president Peter Hans wants to block the app from the campus network IT, making it impossible to use Yik Yak on the 17 campus internet in the UNC System. Hans said the app causes “a reckless disregard for the well-being of young people and an outright indifference to bullying and bad behavior.”
UTC’s YikYak offers a variety of posts and discussions. Despite Yik Yaks’s clear danger of opening room for cyber bullying and harassment in universities, UTC’s Yik Yak does not often represent that.
The wide range of posts on the UTC Yik Yak group are often relatable to student thoughts, sometimes students ask for advice, and even students have open conversations without direct judgment due to the anonymity. There is room for dangerous speech and problems to be caused by Yik Yak nevertheless, it can also be extremely beneficial to students.
The app can connect the whole student body. Everyone has an equal room free from preconceived biases to say what they would like. The app provides a sense of community for everyone, even those who may struggle to find that community on campus.
“How do you continue to stay motivated?” one UTC Yik Yak post said”; “Are there any groups at UTC organizing to help in areas affected by Hurricane Helene?, said another; “How do I make friends as a sophomore who didn’t really establish a big group my first year?,” which gained the response, “I’m a sophomore in the same boat I’ll be your friend.”
UTC can use Yik Yak in a positive light to bring together a stronger, happier community of students where everyone is accepted.
