The new Twitter account, @UnionCrushes, that made sending love through social media easy and anonymous has now been suspended by Twitter.
The account was created on March 31, and the administrator had been posting love notes no more than 140 characters since. The account now had more than 660 followers prior to suspension.
The tweets primarily focused on students, but faculty and staff members occasionally showed up in tweets.
In the “bio” section of the Union Crushes account was a Survey Monkey link. Survey Monkey allows users to generate free online surveys and see results in real time.
From there, a person could fill out the survey form the administrator made and submit their tweet. Supposedly, this made the tweets that were sent in completely anonymous.
Whoever is in charge of the account then chose which tweets to post.
The administrator of Union Crushes responded to several questions asked over direct message on Twitter.
“No, I do not post every tweet that I receive,” Union Crushes said. “I don’t because of some tweets in the beginning caught some flak from the public. Some of the tweets have been and even continue to vary in the level of appropriateness.
“I try to keep it clean, but we’re mature college students & [sic] should be able to handle a few jokes every once in awhile that might not be to Dockery’s liking.”
Heather Warren, junior sports medicine major, believes that the anonymity may be a myth.
“I think [the creators] can see who writes the Survey Monkey forms,” Warren said.
While the tweets sent in may not be anonymous, the identity of the account’s creator(s) remains a mystery.
“I have an idea of who it could possibly be, but it’s just a guess,” Warren said. “I think it’s two girls who aren’t Greek, but I don’t want to share their names.”
Kimberly Thornbury, senior vice president of student services and dean of students, said Union administration also is unsure who the site’s administrators are.
Many tweets were aimed at making comical remarks about students, but some comments have received backlash for being offensive.
“Some sites, while (hopefully) created to be ‘harmless’ at first, often turn sour quickly,” Thornbury said. “That is a result of the fall and our sinful nature to hurt, gossip and betray. However, we are working to develop a Christ-centered community where all of us do life together well.”
Warren said that while most tweets are hilarious, comments should not be taken to the point where a person makes fun of someone’s physical characteristics.
“I think this account will get shut down,” Warren said prior to the suspension. “Every student-made Union Twitter account always goes too far. I give it until the end of the semester.”
“All I would say to the public is, I hope everyone has enjoyed the account; it will continue until the surveys stop being sent in,” Union Crushes said prior to suspension. “I also hope that if I have offended anyone, that they know that I am truly sorry. I only wanted to share the love. #UnionCrushes.”
Thornbury said that within days of the account’s appearance, students wrote to her directly expressing concerns.
“I would ask students not to post on the site,” Thornbury said. “Even if you post something seemingly ‘innocent,’ tweets can often be misinterpreted. If the student administrators do not remove the site, which I think would be best, I would at the very least ask them to remove the tweets that are clearly hurtful, untrue and damaging. Let’s keep it classy, Union.”
