Anne Bost, Contributing Writer
The last time I heard of YikYak (YY) was over the sounds of stifled snickers and murmured jokes as my high school dean tried and failed to lecture the student body on the importance of showing kindness to our peers. However, upon my arrival to the Mountain, it was clear YikYak had found its way onto campus and into the lives of Sewanee students, especially the new first years. Everywhere student life thrived, the app many once thought dead followed. One might hear students laughing about new posts in McClurg or residents murmuring about the most recent rumor going through the grapevine in dormitory common rooms. Dean Campbell even mentioned YY in the 2025-2026 EQB Guide because of its pervasiveness.
Over the past month, YikYak has featured dozens of inside jokes, complaints about trash cans, and at the crux of it all, a heated debate between anonymous users over a petition to remove YikYak from Sewanee. With reactions varying anywhere from cursing out the freshman class to “All of you think this app is so fun and harmless until it’s about you,” Sewanee’s students are divided on the topic. As the former comment implies, many of the older students appeared to categorize YikYak’s existence on the Sewanee campus into two distinct periods: its golden age and ongoing downfall brought on by the arrival of the class of 2029.
With the arrival of the latest freshmen, the already controversial app had supposedly morphed into something even more sinister: a dark troll shaped shadow that loomed over the nation’s most beautiful campus. It had even begun to creep into personal lives. YikYak’s contained rumors about a shady freshmen group chat, memes about someone’s allegedly paid instagram verification, jokes seasoned with speculation and wild games of telephone that spiraled out of control before the first day of classes had even started. However, a conversation with Nicky Campbell provided some helpful insight into the matter and revealed YikYak’s contentious history had existed long before the new class entered the Domain.
Needless to say, the topic of Sewanee’s freshmen sprung up while discussing the nature of the app and its complicated relationship with the University’s inhabitants. But instead of reaffirming the previously stated opinion that the issue was with a particularly troublesome and mean-spirited class, Dean Campbell referenced YY’s long standing history with cyberbullying. YY, created in 2013 by Furman University graduates Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington, was a wild success immediately. Their hopes to connect students on campuses and give them a platform to speak freely had seemingly been realized as the app floated around the top 10 most downloaded charts and was once even valued at around $400 million, but by 2017 the toxicity fostered on the app had driven most users away and a shutdown was announced.
In her interview with The Sewanee Purple, Campbell addressed the complexity of this situation in our current political climate, stating, “I’m all for free speech until it becomes derogatory and affects students mental health and well-being– and since I’m not on Yik Yak the only reports I get are negative and the ones that affect mental health.” As the Dean of student life and affairs, she reiterated that she only wanted best for each and every person attending Sewanee– a truth that made itself apparent from the interview she managed to squeeze in for the Sewanee Purple in the midst of meeting every new student on campus. At the end of the day, Dean Campbell emphasized, she would stand behind whatever stance the student body took on the matter and support that choice. All she asks is for those who signed the honor code to reflect on that honor they agreed to embody and to carry it in all aspects of their life.
The question stands, is YY truly just a stain on this beautiful campus? Well, even dark clouds have their silver linings, and this app is no exception. For the students brave enough to make it past the trolls, the (now disbanded) Sewanee Hornyposting groupchat and taunting jeers, there’s a treasure trove of hidden gems just waiting to be discovered. From genuine advice and support for struggling students to pictures posted by people just stopping to take in the beauty of the Mountain, the tight knit sense of community that’s always defined the University of the South prevailed once again. It turned a breeding ground for negativity into a chaotic but friendly communal space, and at the center of it all sits the crowned jewel of Sewanee’s YY site, the ysrnewyorker account.
Their account, cleverly named after the famous New Yorker comics, features light-hearted jokes about the shared experiences of Sewanee students, all emphasized by fun stylistic drawings. In the past few weeks alone, they’ve made comics about confusion caused by the passing hello, the mysterious frat flu, students’ inexplicable obsession with food city, the experience of anxiously awaiting the gowning email and more. When discussing the state of the app with them and its potential removal, the artist who’s chosen to remain anonymous said, “There are a lot of people who use [YY] for good observational comedy or just sharing like dog and cat pictures which I think can bring positivity to the campus and things. There’s always gonna be a couple bad apples, but I don’t think any of the bad apples– well, but I don’t think the bad apples justify getting rid of [YY], you know what I mean? I feel like it is such a unique application for a campus to have.”
But whether you’re a die-hard supporter of YikYak or eager to bid it farewell, there’s a lesson for each of us to learn from it about interacting with others online and in person, one that’s cosigned by Dean Campbell, ysrnewyorker and our very own school motto. Think about everything you do, put purpose into every action you take and live every day hoping to inspire positivity and kindness so that this community can embody the phrase Ecce Quam Bonum in all aspects.