Facebook group “Overheard at APU” houses over 3,700 members. After being accepted into the group, subscribers may relate all they would like upon the page’s feed, confident their message will reach a significant portion of the student body.
The group’s description relates its mission statement, “For those precious moments when you overhear or oversee something hilarious on campus.”
True to the spirit of a college campus, the feed varies somewhat in its inappropriateness. One popular post relates the terror many undergraduates feel when checking their email this season: “Overseen in an email: ‘Happy Thanksgiving!…your first Spring Payment is due!’”
Pop culture references, quips at the expense of rival school Biola University, sarcasm and inside jokes abound. What will we overhear next on campus?
Undoubtedly due to the page’s popularity, serious posts are published as well. The terrorist attacks in Paris incited a variety of posts requesting prayers for loved ones. To get the word out, police reports of missing minors are often shared as well.
As with any gathering, some jokes fall flat. Other posts give voice to issues of social justice and inevitably cause tension. The tone of the “room” can shift from humorous to serious in moments when someone is rubbed the wrong way. Drama ensues. Are the posts on Overheard at APU humorous or needless?
Isaac Lyles, senior mathematics major, enjoys the page’s humor. Regarding serious issues, he said, “It might be a good thing for the community to pay attention to.”
He believes there is a certain “danger that everyone might think their social cause is so important everyone needs to know about it right now.”
The bottom line, he said, is “If you’re going to post something serious, you might want to consult other people before you post it.”
“I think erring on the side of light-heartedness is just safer, more cautious,” Lyles added.
Sophomore allied health and violin double major Chloe MacKay agrees, saying that in general serious issues divert the Facebook page from its intended humor.
“There is actually a page called APU Discussions, and that’s where you can post things that might end up offending people,” said Mackay.
It’s no secret that people tend to conduct themselves differently on social media than they do in real life.
“I think people on the Internet tend to be more candid than they would [be] in real life,” Lyles said. “That could give a view into what the person actually thinks.”
“I’m of the mind that it’s good because I appreciate honesty.” Mackay said. “It should be done in a way [in which] you don’t make enemies. You can put your opinion on it, but not in an insulting way.”
“I think a lot of people cross that line, especially on the Overheard at APU page,” she said.
Most of the friction that arises is removed by the page’s administrators when the arguments descend into name calling. Judging from the group’s feed, the administrators are not against the presence of controversial postings. The effectiveness of their actions, or lack thereof, is sometimes questioned.
“It’s hard to be the police for everyone,” Mackay said.
The site’s administrators seem notorious for quickly removing irrelevant posts, but show more discretion when it comes to gray areas.
Lyles said he’s never witnessed them taking action. “I’ve heard about it, I’ve seen the aftermath when people talk about [it], but I’ve never been lucky enough to see the controversial thing and then notice it was gone later.”
Even in a community as friendly as APU, it can prove difficult to keep over 3,700 people from descending into chaos and misconduct. This is accentuated by the sensation of safety and illusion of anonymity instilled in a user behind a digital screen. People tend to be less personable behind a keyboard.
For this reason, many members of the APU community deliberately choose to stay away from the Facebook group entirely.
Regardless, it is clearly evident that many people, students and faculty alike, enjoy the page despite its flaws.
“If it were YouTube-status, where people were just saying disgusting, ugly things, then I could see it being a problem,” Lyles said. “There is definitely some Facebook drama that goes on, but it’s not that big of a deal, it’s not as horrendous as YouTube comments.”
“I definitely think Overheard at APU should be kept around,” he said.
Personally, I am unsubscribing when this story is published. While the page holds potential to digitally accentuate the open and friendly nature of the campus, it also invites impersonal drama by its very nature.