Anonymous university ‘confessions’ pages springing up

Facebook pages that encourage college students to anonymously divulge their deepest secrets are popping up on campuses across the country, including many UW schools. Although the College Confessions pages aren’t officially affiliated with universities, each page does use the school’s name.

The confessions range from as personal as the sex lives of students to simply gross, like serving pizza that fell on the floor.

UW-La Crosse chancellor Joe Gow sent an email to the campus about his disapproval of the UWL-Confessions Facebook page, since renamed “LAX Confessions.” He says he wasn’t trying to censor free speech. He was disturbed by an image the page used of a girl passed out on the ground in a pile of empty plastic cups and beer cans. This came a week after UWL student Neala Frye died of hypothermia after a night of drinking, “It’s not like we’re saying we’re going to be prudes and just shut down all your behavior, but the way it’s portrayed is very troubling and I hope people are not actually doing those things.”

Students are torn, with some saying it sheds a bad light on the school and others saying it’s all in good fun.

UW-Madison Communication Arts Assistant Professor Catalina Toma says the Facebook pages could be used as one of the many sources of information that a person looks at before deciding what school to go to. “I don’t think it’s going to have a substantial impact compared to other factors, such as quality of education and financial packages. But it does provide some information about a school and the students at the school.”

Toma says Facebook isn't the only website where students can anonymously tell their secrets or rant about their university. Other sites include PostSecret or Rate My Professor.

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