It has been a tough few weeks at the University of Missouri.
In response to racial tensions on campus, graduate student Jonathan Butler began a public hunger strike demanding the removal of the University's president, Tim Wolfe. 30 members of the football team joined Butler's cause, boycotting the gridiron until Wolfe ultimately resigned.
That was on Monday.
On Tuesday, student body president Payton Head raised concerns in now-deleted Facebook post claiming the KKK had been spotted on campus, CNN reports. Then, early Wednesday morning, police arrested a 19-year-old Hunter Park at the University of Missouri for allegedly threatening to "shoot every black person" on campus.
Police are calling Park's alleged plan a "terrorist threat" and it was one of several threats made this past week, many of which were posted to anonymous gossip app Yik Yak — an app pretty popular at college campuses across the country.
In case you're not familiar, Yik Yak is a digital message board that allows people within a certain geographic area to post anonymous comments that anyone can read. Students will often use the platform to discuss controversial matters, like the ongoing race protests at Ithaca college or the recent noose incident at the University of Delaware.
Even though the University of Missouri's online emergency information center said campus was "operating on a regular schedule," Wednesday, students spent the morning conversing on Yik Yak about how school looked like a "ghost town."
Here's a look at one of the posts Tech Insider found on University of Missouri Yik Yak Wednesday afternoon.
These conversations took place on the same platform that the alleged violent threats first appeared on. In fact, The Washington Post reports there were several other threats posted to Yik Yak on Tuesday (they've since been deleted.)
—Jill Ornitz (@Jill_Ornitz) November 11, 2015
Just like the rest of you, we’ve been following the recent events at University of Missouri and we’ve felt a mix of inspiration, disappointment, hope, and sadness at what the Mizzou community has been going through. Ultimately, we’ve been impressed by the strength of the student body during an extremely tough time.
It’s our hope that the range of discussion on MU’s campus can help to bring about positive resolution and a better understanding within the community. But there’s a point where discussion can go too far – and the threats that were posted on Yik Yak last night were both upsetting and completely unacceptable. Let’s not waste any words here: This sort of misbehavior is NOT what Yik Yak is to be used for. Period. It is not condoned by Yik Yak, and it violates our Terms of Service.
While Yik Yak is technically anonymous, the company owns any materials you submit on the app (even if you delete them) and retains the rights to disclose information about you, as per their Terms of Service.
Perhaps this Yik Yak poster said it best.
"I guess you guys should think twice about the s--- you post on Yik Yak," they wrote.
