In a new study conducted via an all-school email, researchers concluded that a shocking 88 percent of current Wellesley students have just recently learned that an anonymous online confessions page has little to no effect on producing institutional change.
The email, sent to the entire Wellesley community on Feb. 22, 2019 at 8:30 p.m. and again at 9:12 p.m., comprised a series of questions about the popular Wellesley Uncensored Confessions page on Facebook, which has logged nearly 1,000 anonymous entries since the fateful departure of the original Wellesley Confessions in March 2018.
Danielle So ’20, one of the researchers, contemplated for about 15 minutes before sending the survey to the school. “I was afraid what I’d find,” she said. “The focus of our research was to explore how the page was used and perhaps what could come out of the research.” So clarified that she is not an administrator and is affiliated with the page only as a researcher.
The biggest takeaway from the study, So points out, is that approximately 88 percent of Wellesley students have learned in the past month that an anonymous Facebook platform contains minimal power over institutional life at Wellesley. “I had to rub my eyes when I saw the results! 88? We hypothesized, due to the frequency of the posts and other relevant factors, that 15 percent would have learned this fact in the past 30 days.” She sighed. “I always say to myself, ‘Let the research speak for itself.’ I just really, really didn’t want to listen this time.”
An admin to the page speaking anonymously for fear of their life shared with The Wellesley News the trends they have seen in their time as gatekeeper. “It really is strange to see what Wellesley has their minds on every week. We see a lot of posts about dining halls and societies, for obvious reasons, and it can be quite fun to see dirt about someone’s weird roommate. Even the 9/11 drama was—” they trailed off as their lawyer made a stopping motion with their hand. “It can get hard. I read the confessions every two or three days before posting them, and I always feel like I should reach out to those struggling, you know, with depression and shit, but I’m a professional,” they shared.
A town hall about the Wellesley Uncensored Confessions page will be held in Tishman Commons on Feb. 28, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. featuring President Paula A. Johnson, who will not be briefed about the page and its contents before the event; a page admin broadcasted from an undisclosed location; and Margaret Brooks ’19, a frequent unprompted commenter and self-proclaimed girlboss. The townhall will be moderated by Sarah Luis ’20, an effusively positive resident assistant (RA) who desperately wants to be House President next year, and is sponsored by The Raytheon Company.
