Instead of being a relaxing vacation away from school, spring break bred something straight out of an early 2010s high school drama movie. Particularly, Mean Girls. Hamilton’s very own Burn Book, “Hami Confessions” on Instagram, gained 235 followers and posted more than 500 times after its appearance on March 19. While the owner of this page did not share their opinions, they created a platform where people could say anything with anonymity.
“The page is terrible for mental health and causes drama,” said CAA senior Anaiah Pearce.
For almost a month, posts on the now-deleted account ranged from exposing secrets to slandering people to explicit and racist comments. Many contributors even argued back and forth through posted confessions. To put it simply, the page was a breeding ground for toxicity.
“As someone who has been brought up so many times [on the account], I would say it is disrespectful and harmful,” said AMPA senior Christopher Devant. “They need to mind their business.”
On the other hand, Humanities junior John Williams said he thought the account was fun. “Anyone can realize this beef won’t get out of high school and won’t matter in a few years. High school is such a small period, might as well enjoy it without getting your feelings hurt over some overstimulated teenagers that are working minimum wage.”
Although the account has had negative impacts, many students do not blame the owner. “The person is fine,” AMPA senior Matisse Anderson states. “But the people on the account are really negative.” Matisse went on to share he has even developed a friendship with the anonymous owner following his recurring appearance in the confessions, sharing he does not believe the owner should suffer any consequences for posting the confessions.
While some may see the account as an entertaining joke, others have been publicly humiliated. As noticed in real-world cases of cyberbullying, anonymity is often used negatively. Due to this, the account has been reported to the district.
“All it takes is a pulled IP address,” reminded Principal Baxter, emphasizing that everything comes to light.
The owner, however, does not seem to be too alarmed. The account may now be gone, but the joke sure is not as they revealed their plan to print stickers of Ms Baxter before deleting the account.
Additional reporting contributed by Marley Herndon and Ava Langford.
