Deeming someone the “voice of a school” is a lofty title, but when over 18,000 people follow the tweets of one person, their voice is one to be reckoned with. Read our feature on @OU_Confessions.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a weekly series examining social media accounts both affiliated and not affiliated with Ohio University. The name of the creator of OU Confessions has been withheld from this article at her request.
Deeming someone the “voice of a school” is a lofty title, but when more than 18,000 people follow the tweets of one person, that voice is one to be reckoned with.
Although all of the confessions on the @OU_Confessions Twitter account are submitted via ask.fm, many of the account’s followers wonder who is behind the tweets that have given students the ability to anonymously share tales of partying, intimacy, struggle and a host of other subjects.
It all started around a year and a half ago, during the spring of 2013, when one Ohio University sophomore wanted an outlet for students online. “It pretty much started out of boredom … I wasn’t really planning on it being as big as it is,” said the account’s creator, who is now a senior.
“I went home for spring break my sophomore year and I was just thinking about this year and how crazy it was … and the stories from the past two years that my friends have told me, what they wouldn’t tell anyone else.”
The account was an instant hit, resonating with other students quickly. It gained 9,000 followers in the first two weeks, and has since grown to have the most followers of any non-official OU affiliated account. It’s evolved into the go-to stop for revelations of drunken debauchery and sexual desires.
The account’s creator said the page’s popularity stems from the fact that, “There’s just crazy stuff that people do that you don’t want people to know, but you want people to know.”
Students may have had their confession posted while standing next to the account’s creator on the escalators in Baker University Center, a popular spot for her to tweet on the go. “I’ll do it if I’m on the escalators for a couple of minutes, I’ll just quickly go through them and post, or if I’m delaying homework … procrastinating.”
Some find the account pure fun and a nice form of entertainment, like Olivia Karle, a junior studying education. “I find it highly entertaining … (to see) how stupid people get on the weekends,” she said. She also expressed sympathy for the girl running the account. “It’s got to be tough to filter through everything.”
Others are skeptical of the authenticity of some confessions. “Sometimes they’re too hard to believe; sometimes they’re just dramatic,” Samantha Lenart, a junior studying education, said. But she loves the secrecy. “The best part is that they’re anonymous.”
The account’s future is unclear, given its operator’s status. She said she might spend a fifth year at OU, but would most likely not run the account if she was here. “I’ll probably end up passing it on to somebody that knows that I do it and they think they can do it and I trust them,” she said.
And she isn’t entirely anonymous. A number of her close friends know the truth; she first told her roommates when she started the account so they could submit confessions. Now, she’s more discreet.
Picking which submissions get posted is also difficult. The account’s creator says some confessions have affected her emotionally, and she has gone from posting every confession to picking and choosing which submissions will go live.
“It’s hard because in the beginning I posted every single thing that came through and that just really took a toll on me,” she said. “There’s some that if it really pops out or if it’s really funny… then I’ll post that.”
Another challenge is the sense of responsibility that comes with the account, the creator said.
“I get pretty upset about it just because I’m scared that if I don’t reach out to them, they’re going to do something,” she said of confessions she gets from people struggling with depression and thoughts of suicide.
“I was so scared for like a week straight I couldn’t sleep because I have to check this all the time. If I miss someone and they kill themselves, I don’t know what I would do. That was hard, but it’s been nice because I’ve been trying to get people to call these numbers and go talk to (Dean of Students) Jenny Hall-Jones and counseling.”
Not every confession resonates positively with every student.
“I feel like it’s almost verbal sexual assault,” Zach Parrinello, a junior studying anthropology, said. “It has its goods and bads … (but a lot of it is) unwanted sexually.”
“Sometimes it’s entertaining and sometimes it’s really disappointing to hear students say degrading things,” Meghan Hepp, a junior studying nursing, said. “The more of it you read, the more you get grossed out.”
Regardless of their feelings about the account, those who want to know the identity of the anonymous tweeter may be in luck one day.
“I kind of do want to reveal (who I am). This is the face that some of you hate, some of you like ... some of you want to punch me in the face.”
If you want to keep up with the shenanigans and publicly undisclosed information that Bobcats provide, follow this account on Twitter @OU_Confessions.
@w_gibbs
wg868213@ohio.edu
