Yik Yak Causes Stir at E&H

On Wednesday, September 3rd, there was a major scare on the Emory and Henry College campus. The day before, a student posted on an app known as Yik Yak, “Freshman killing spree. Tomorrow at the cafe at 12. All upperclassmen come prepared.” The student turned himself in soon after an email was sent out to all students warning them of the threat, but that didn’t stop the media from swarming the area. While most newspapers and articles refer to the incident as a threat towards freshmen, that may not actually be the case. Rural Retreat High School newspaper staff member Isaiah Addair met with an Emory and Henry student and asked him what he thought about the situation. The student said, “I believe it was actually a freshman that posted the threat onto Yik Yak, so instead of a killing spree against freshman wouldn’t that make it a killing spree against upperclassmen? I mean, it did tell the upperclassmen to come prepared,” which makes since considering the threat says “freshman” rather than saying “freshmen."

Said student did also state that he is very appreciative for how campus faculty and staff handled the situation. On another note, there are still other alarming posts on Yik Yak that are taking place and E&H seems to be taking no precautions. As of September 4th
there was someone threatening rape. How will campus security handle this situation?

Below is the email sent to Emory and Henry students the morning of the threats:

Dear Students,
Yik Yak is a social media application that can be used for communicating with those around you. Unfortunately, we have received a report that a threat was posted on Yik Yak today that reads, "Freshman killing spree. Tomorrow at the cafe at 12. All upperclassmen come prepared." We take threats like this seriously and will investigate. The College can pursue all avenues open to us to hold those who threaten the safety of our campus responsible to the fullest extent of the law. If you know who sent this post, please contact Campus Safety at 276.356.7783 or me at 276.944.6122 and report it. Please note that Yik Yak will work with law enforcement in cases involving threats to safety. In several cases, their assistance has led to the arrest of users. The Yik Yak team has developed a protocol on how to handle these situations and we are seeking their assistance. As a safety precaution, we are making all of our community members aware that this has been posted. If you are concerned about your safety, please contact my office in Wiley 121. I am also asking faculty to discuss this threat briefly in classes tomorrow in the context of our responsibility to each other as members of this learning community.In addition, some in our community have reported concerns about the messages coming across Yik Yak that are sexual, offensive, and derogatory. We are better than this and need to hold each other accountable. We are a community built on trust and respect, whether you are communicating in person or anonymously through social media. Please act responsibly.

UPDATE: On Friday, September 5th it was released that the student was charged with a class one misdemeanor, which can carry $2,500 and up to 12 months in jail. The student was released Thursday night on $1,000 bail.

-Isaiah Addair

Source: WCYB