College confessions – what UW and WSU students admit online
Mar 18, 2013, 5:47 PM | Updated: Mar 19, 2013, 10:01 am
(Linda Thomas file UW photo)
“I haven’t worn underwear since winter break. Life is better commando.”
“I throw my dead goldfish out my dorm window at people walking by.”
“This school was my last choice.”
“I’ve stolen about $1,000 worth of clothing, and food within the last year. I also feel little remorse about it.”
Those statements are from UW and WSU students. They’re part of the anonymous
college confessions craze going through Facebook.
Anonymous and Facebook don’t usually go together. To get around the Facebook requirement that users be real people sharing a true identity (right), these confessions are sent to a page administrator through Survey Monkey or other sites that allow for anonymity.
College pages from the UW and WSU stand their own, and feed into a larger confessions group on Facebook.
Similar high school pages have been shut down, out of concern for bullying. The worry at the college level is a bit different – the confessions aren’t the kind of PR they’re looking for.
A few confession sites have been asked to stop using school symbols and photographs of iconic buildings. WSU Confessions uses a logo, and the UW Confessions page has a recognizable shot of the campus.
Disapproval from some colleges has actually caused the fad to gain some attention this month.
As you would imagine, most of the posts are crude, rude, obnoxious and sexual.
What makes this oddly addictive is the occasional comment that evokes a feeling we can relate to, even though it’s not our situation.
“I’m so extremely scared for the future, can we just fast forward to graduation so I know what’s in store for me?
“My parents are spending their life savings on my education, when it should have been for my brother who died five years ago today. He was the smart one.”
“I’m never going to be able to pay off my loans.”
As you know, I support anonymous comments. Hmmm, anything you want to confess?
By LINDA THOMAS