I have a confession to make: I’m absolutely addicted to the “SELU Crushes” and “Southeastern Louisiana University Confessions” Facebook pages. I loved reading the Confessions page to sneak a peek at the dirty little secrets that my fellow Lions are harboring; that is, until the page was deleted.
Though the “SELU Crushes” page remains alive and well at the time of this writing, the “Southeastern Louisiana University Confessions” was taken down on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and I have to say, I am a little relieved.
When I first scrolled through the page, students were posting embarrassing, dirty and hilarious secrets for the world to see. After a few days, however, the nature of the comments became increasingly vicious. I could not help but think of the classic novel “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding.
If you haven’t read the novel, “Lord of the Flies” describes a fictional society made up of preadolescent boys stranded on an island. The plot begins with the group exploring their freedom in what seems to be a tropical paradise until their maliciousness results in the murder and torture of several  of the boys.
The plot is a perfect analogy to describe the way “SELU Crushes” and “Southeastern Louisiana University Confessions” quickly went from innocent declarations of attraction and the spilling of secrets to blatant cyber bullying and sexual harassment. Fantasies of rape, petty insults and vicious slander quickly created a hostile environment.
The Confessions page could have been a wonderful way for us to share laughs as a campus, to get things off our chests and to show one another that we are not alone. Instead, the page became a way for people to insult and shame others under a shield of anonymity.
Fortunately, the “SELU Crushes” administrator has publicly announced on the page:
“To prevent any drama in your life and the life of others I’ll not post anything that I believe will slander someone’s name or that is poking fun/bullying anyone… The purpose of this page is to put a smile on someone’s face – make somebody’s day – boost others self-esteem, all through anonymous submissions.”
While the old confessions page is dead, a new page titled “Lions Confessions” takes its place. Though the page is fairly new as of this writing, I hope that the posters and administrators remember: just because you can write something, does not mean you should. People are affected by slander and insults, especially when they are posted on a public forum. Let’s try to create an atmosphere of acceptance rather than hostility.