Cyber Bullying On College Campus Isn't Cool

Students on a college Campus in Michigan have Created a Twitter account that allows for anonymous cyber bullying. It isn't cool, and it isn't funny.

Students on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University in Saginaw, MI have created a Twitter called DBags of the Valley. At first glance, this Twitter seems like it would call out general DBags, like the people who break out their guitars when the weather is nice, or the skateboarders and bikers who practically run people over. You know, the annoying people that we all laugh about, and who laugh about themselves.

However, at second glance, this Twitter is a vessel for cyber bullying. Students can anonymously post their "DBags" to ask.fm and DBags of the Valley, who are anonymous themselves, will post those asks on Twitter. This Twitter has 1020 followers, which is about 10% of enrolled students, and just under half of the students that live on campus. Needless to say, a lot of people have these tweets pop up in their newsfeeds. These tweets are not harmless tweets, they are mean spirited, sometimes racially charged, comments that degrade individuals. They say nasty things and spread nasty rumors about people who do not deserve it. Here are example of a few tweets:

As illustrated above, these posts are awful. The ones that are racially charged are so much so that they are not going to be posted in this article.

What's worse, is the way DBags of the Valley acts toward those who speak out against them:

The fact that they use Freedom of Speech to defend their site is sickening. The Freedom of Speech that our forefathers gave us was not the Freedom to bully others. it was the Freedom to speak out against our government when we were displeased with it, a freedom that the were not given under the tyrannical rule of the British Crown. It is a Freedom that many people across the world are not given, and the fact that we Americans abuse this Freedom and use it to belittle and bully other people is shameful.

On the note of Cyber Bullying: Cyber-bullying isn't cool, and it's not funny. Putting someone down doesn't make you better than them. Putting someone down via a keyboard shows that you know what you are going to say is hurtful, and the fact that you are trying to separate yourself from the words you say by staying anonymous shows cowardice.

To everybody who has been mentioned on this Twitter: You are better than what has been written about you. To those who are using this Twitter: You are better than what you write. Never forget that.