Calissa Hagen
Reporter
Many new anonymous PLU Instagram pages have popped up since the beginning of Pacific Lutheran University’s academic year.
With almost 900 followers, the “PLU Confessions” page first posted on Sept 17, but they had previously posted on their story with an open call for anything juicy they could post anonymously.
Another highly popular page is “Lute Love Connections”, which has almost 600 followers and first posted on Sept 14.
Many people have asked what triggered the creation of this pages this year, and the answer is quite obvious: students, especially freshmen, are desperate to get to know each other during a pandemic that makes it hard to reach out to people.
Both these social media accounts are an easy way to hear from others at PLU and know what’s happening on campus. If you saw someone cute out grabbing dinner the easiest way to find them is through these pages. It’s a way for students to feel connected even when we need to be six feet apart.
The posts on these pages range from dirty to romantic confessions that connect students in a way discord never could.
These pages have brought joy and smiles to the PLU community during these unconventional times.
“I honestly think it’s really good. People cope with screaming into the void and think that helps. I think it’s good for people who may need support but are too scared to come out and ask for it,” first-year Maddie Van Blaricom said. “If someone has a problem that is not worth going to the authorities about it’s a good place to share. There are definitely problems with drama being caused but that is on students [and] has nothing to do with the owner.”
Another PLU student shared anonymously that the account should be posting stuff about people breaking the coronavirus rules. They DMed the person running the confessions account about a student who was out partying with no masks and no social distancing, hoping to call the student out anonymously. The person who runs the account replied that they were no longer going to use the page to call people out.
This brings up an important question: should the account be used to bring awareness to people’s negligence, or is it okay for the person running the account to ignore these “confessions” and only post the juicier stories?
The pages have faced backlash due to the drama and heated discussion that often occurs in the comments.
“I just think it’s a bit immature, especially since it seems to be causing a lot of debate and drama … Reminds me too much of middle school even though high school was the last educational institution we were at,” an anonymous PLU student said.
Most PLU students seem to agree the pages are funny. However, it is “very weird that they talk about their private stuff even if it’s sexual,” first-year Keahi Holden said.
I think students are just looking for something to talk about, and these accounts fit the bill. I think it’s safe to say that students enjoy reading over these confessions, each one making us smile and giving us something to laugh about during these hard and lonely times.
