Like many people, every night before I go to bed, I surf Twitter and for juicy gossip and funny memes. One night in particular, I came across a gossip page entitled, “The AUC Gossip.” Naturally, I was intrigued by the title and the gossip that would soon follow, however, on the contrary, the information listed on the page was horrible and exposed more information than was needed to the public. When scrolling down the timeline of the AUC Gossip page, I felt bad for those listed and the information that was released concerning them. The topics of the gossip page ranged anywhere from Greek Life to Sexual Orientation and Relations to Friendship Issues. The authenticity of the claims on the gossip page ranged from complete bull– to factual information that was detrimental to the victim’s reputation.
The reactions to the page varied because some students were offended to be on the page, but others were ecstatic to have their names and reputations relevant to the rest of the student body. For many students within the AUC, popularity is everything and key to their four years in college, so for many to have been mentioned within the page it gave them a reassurance of their statehood and being within the AUC. Within the AUC, a superficial world exists, for many believe that everything involves hierarchy. To be written on the page for many students solidified their place in the hierarchy and social status within the AUC. However, on the contrary for those that were not written on the page, their mindset concerning their popularity was also solidified and many may have felt that they were not popular or “poppin” enough to be part of the page’s gossip.
The feedback to the gossip page varied. Many of the persons that were written about on the gossip page were those who were a part of big social events or socially known within the three campuses (Spelman College, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University). Gossip and words flew fast concerning who was behind the scenes of the page, and who was causing such hurt and agony to those involved. As many weeks have passed and the gossip page still remains, we have observed a drastic change in the social lives of those mentioned within the page. Many of the students mentioned find themselves self-consciously watching themselves when they are within a social environment because they must “watch themselves” or else they’ll end up on the “page.”
Everyone has a past right? Should students be called out on their mistakes and past lives? How about that girl that wants to forget she did not make “line”, or the boy that wants to forget his drunken night that went a bit too far? How about the girl that wants to forget she fell out with her best friend over a guy? The students mentioned cannot simply continue living their lives freely without the judgment and evaluation that will take place amongst their peers. Gossip pages such as these must be stopped because they place a heavy social burden amongst their campuses and the students that are involved with them.Â