The best way to kill a conversation on the internet is to talk about it in real life. So, here it goes.
Once again, our beloved Facebook group with more than 15,000 members, Wolfpack Students, finds itself embroiled in outrage. This time the frenzy erupted over a Student Government initiative to kill the page, proving the age-old wisdom that something is only missed once it’s gone.
Originally in 2010, the group was created to serve as a communication link between SG and the rest of the student body, as a means of encouraging feedback and participation in student politics. While this original intent is vital, over the past six years, the group has degenerated. Off-topic, intentionally-leading political posts and perpetual harassment from trolls overwhelm the discussion. As a result, legitimately useful content is buried and many are dissuaded from engaging. Student Body President Paul Nolan said it best, “Basically, it’s turned into a mess.”
To remedy this mess, SG introduced a bill to terminate the group at the end of fall semester. Speaking bluntly, this bill, as it currently reads, is utterly stupid; SG instead needs to put on its boots and fix Wolfpack Students to actually work.
Dumping the group is a lazy solution to the problem. SG has a social obligation to maintain accessible channels for communication, as they ensure accountability and democratic engagement. Furthermore, the large size of the group cultivated over the years provides an audience for students looking for help/advice, advertising job postings or any other sort of convivial interaction.
The smaller splinter groups forming in the void of Wolfpack Students will impede communication and not have nearly the same potential for effectiveness. While the bill makes a provision for using an alternative platform for public relations, namely Basecamp, let’s be honest with ourselves and realize that nobody will use it. Facebook already has a lot of members actively using the site and makes it easier for alumni to stay tuned to the ongoings of the student body.
Wolfpack Students in particular has failed due to terrible moderation practices. It’s honestly not that hard, you just have to be diligent. Forums have been around since the beginning of the internet and best practices for their moderation have been developed. After dialoguing with the community and developing a consensus, explicitly and publicly define the rules and the consequences for violating them.
Upon seeing a comment or a post that violates a rule, a moderator should directly contact that person and ask them to remove it; repeated violations should result in banning from the page. Moderators should be transparent about their practices and communicate among themselves to maintain consistency. “We don’t have enough time” is a poor excuse; find additional members of Student Government and the general student body who have the time, dedication and experience to be good moderators. SG is filled with smart, plucky, involved students, so it’s not too much to ask for decent moderation.
Over the past couple of days of rabid debate, the Wolfpack has shown every side of its character, warts and all. Thankfully, many students and alumni have provided genuinely insightful commentary on how to improve the group and better engage the community.
However, I was shocked to hear that an anonymous poster on the app Jodel suggested that one of the sponsors of the bill, Mitchell Moravec, kill himself, only days after similar hateful comments were made against our kicker for poor performance during the Clemson game. It breaks my heart to see members of our community fire atrocious comments against a devoted public servant and a student-athlete who just had an off day. The small minority of trolls and harassers ruins the experience for everybody else, and such behavior is unacceptable
I have both personal and professional relationships with Mitchell and the other sponsor of the bill, Luke Perrin. They both care very much about the student body and fostering a vibrant political community. Luke has written many insightful columns for the Technician and Mitchell is involved in every student organization under the sun. Knowing them pretty well, I have a hunch that this entire debacle was a front to get people more involved in SG.
To these ends, it worked out splendidly and social media technology was a good catalyst. A committee meeting was broadcasted via Facebook live, senators talked with their constituents in the trenches of the comment section and people commented on the draft bill in a Google Doc. While it’s comical to see all of this discussion over a relatively petty thing like a Facebook group, all of this focused activity brings warmth to my cynical heart. We should maintain this momentum and use SG to channel and amplify the student voice to fight for issues that really matter.
If you actually want to get involved in a longer-term discussion, go here for the repository of Student Senate-related documents. Decisions are made by those show up, so let’s #MakeSGRelevantAgain.
