What started as a harmless way to waste time turned into a nightmare for students. Yik Yak. Who would’ve thought an app could be so vicious? Nevertheless, the bullies got ahold of it and used it to spread rumors and secrets, and to turn people against each other. For some, it was funny. For others, it was the worst day of their lives. However, even through all of this hate, something remarkable happened within the walls of AHS.

Yik Yak lets users post anonymous comments that everyone within a certain radius can see. It’s not hard to imagine how this was an easy way for bullies to target others. When the app blew up, it seemed surreal. First, a few mean comments were posted targeting specific people, but then a tidal wave of hateful remarks flew in. I couldn’t believe how terrible students at my school could be.

When the bell rang, the school was buzzing about the events of the past hour. I thought the whole thing would be pushed aside by the end of the day, but then I saw her. I had no idea who she was, but she was sobbing. Standing next to her was a school administrator, comforting her and telling her they were going to get to the bottom of it. At that point, I realized my school wasn’t going to let something like this blow over. If you aren’t the target, sometimes you forget how painful bullying can really be. But my school wouldn’t forget.

The next day, a NoH8 Week campaign began. Everyone had post-its with positive messages attached to their locker, and there were posters everywhere with other messages about kindness and anti-cyberbullying. The school took a stand on the issue, and began investigating the IP addresses associated with the Yik Yak comments to get to the bottom of the bully-search. They even created a geo-fence in the school so that the app was no longer accessible to students when in the building. I was so impressed by the dedication of the staff and students to stop bullying.