Despite what was rumored last Saturday night on Yik Yak, the anonymous social app infamous for vulgarity and bullying, sophomore Lindsey Eveland did not die.
The night was just like any other night for Eveland, an evening spent at Ohio Thrift with her boyfriend. But while driving back to Bexley, she was bombarded with texts from friends asking if everything was alright.
Following a friend’s request to check Yik Yak, she was surprised to find that a female student was rumored to have died.
The only names mentioned were “Eveland” and the initials “LE”.
Eveland said her boyfriend called public safety around 11:30 p.m. and asked if anyone died on campus.
Ten minutes later, Eveland said she received a phone call from her roommate who said that a public safety officer was at their dorm room wanting to speak with Eveland.
An officer then went to the boyfriend’s College Avenue home to confirm Eveland’s identity.
“He said ‘you’re certainly not dead’ … and I’m certainty not,” Eveland said.
Public safety’s police chief, Frank Fernandez, initially said no investigation into Saturday’s incident occurred. But after checking the call log, he confirmed that his department did receive a call from a concerned individual.
“It is unfortunate that we have to use our resources on this type of social media rumor, but due to the nature of the complaint, we ended up checking for the wellbeing of the alleged victim,” Fernandez said.
No incident report was filed.
Most yaks mentioning Eveland have since disappeared.
Yaks are typically removed if a user reports a post that violates Yik Yak’s rules or if a yak receives five down votes.
“I’m not aware of anyone from Capital removing content from Yik Yak,” said Nichole Johnson, Capital’s executive director of marketing communications.
Eveland said she has no idea who started the rumor but believes that she may have angered someone.
“Friday morning, people were commenting my name on random posts … they were insinuating that I was on the ‘walk of shame’ as I was coming home from my boyfriend’s house,” Eveland said.
Instructor of criminology and sociology at Capital University, Laura Brennankane said she does not fully understand the motivation behind this “deviant behavior.”
Both Eveland and Brennankane believe the hoaxer may have been motivated by boredom.
But how exactly did one Yak hold the power to become “the death” of a student?
Yik Yak’s website defines the app as “home to the casual, relatable, heartfelt, and silly things that connect people with their community.”
Incidents such as last Saturday’s, however, lead Brennankane into thinking Yik Yak encourages a herd-mentality, or groupthink.
She said that when people get into groups, social loafing, or the phenomenon of people exerting less effort to achieve a goal, can occur.
Brennankane also referenced a popular social psychology study, the Asch Experiment, which was designed to test how peer pressure influences a person’s judgment. The experiment showed that one voice can make a difference amongst many.
“What is it that you all want?” Brennankane said. “Do you want a social media where anyone is free to say anything, consequences be damned … or do you want to have something that is more student policed?”
Last spring, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion attempted to answer Brennankane’s question by hosting an event called “Take Back The Yak.”
Prior to this event, last February an African American student from Capital reached out to NBC4, claiming he endured racist comments via Yik Yak almost on a daily basis.
Approximately 35 students came to ‘Take Back The Yak” to discuss ways to help prevent harmful yaks. The results from the meeting were as follows:
- When a comment that is harmful/offensive in nature is posted, a core group of students should flood that post with positivity.
- Capital should host a “silence campaign” that showcases screenshots of some of the harmful/offense language used on the app with the goal of having campus discussion about the comments.
- Petition (with signatures) the administration to block the app.
- Employ a down voting “tree”. If something very harmful/offensive in nature is posted, several students who are apart of this tree will automatically down vote the comment off.
Since the weekend, some people have made good-humored jokes about Eveland being the campus “dead girl.” But she is taking the rumor in stride.
Eveland said she feels no ill will about what happened but would like to have a conversation with whoever started the rumor to understand his or her motivation.
“Nothing bothered me about the yaks besides the fact of why would somebody post that,” Eveland said. “… You have to look back at it and say, ‘Well, oh it was funny.’ You can’t be hurt by it.”
