Yik Yak gets big yuck from school officials

By Anne Trautner

Staff Writer

Last week, both Wilmot Union High School and Westosha Central High School blocked access to Yik Yak, a social media mobile app that has been used nationwide to anonymously bully others and to make violent threats.

School officials are not aware of any significant threats made at either Wilmot or Westosha.

However, Yik Yak was used Thursday night in the East Troy area to make a threat to “shoot up” a school.

On Friday morning, A Delavan-Darien High School student was taken into custody in connection with the threat.

Delavan-Darien schools and Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Delavan were locked down while the boy was taken into custody, which took less than half an hour, Delavan Police Chief Tim O’Neill said. O’Neill said no threats were made at Delavan-Darien High School, but the Delavan Police Department is working with East Troy police to interview another student who may have been involved in the post.

East Troy School District Administrator Chris Hibner said he and school administrators met at 4 a.m. Friday to discuss whether to close school. They decided to keep school open but allow parents the option of keeping their kids out of school.

Letters were emailed to parents to alert them that an anonymous threat was traced to the East Troy area, but not to a specific school. Attendance numbers were not available, but Hibner said the student count in East Troy was down “significantly.”

In western Kenosha County, there were no dangerous threats, but school officials shut down Yik Yak anyway.

At Wilmot, staff first became aware of issues with Yik Yak and its sometimes-cruel postings on Tuesday, after teachers caught wind of the app from students, Wilmot District Administrator Dan Kopp said.

“Our teachers are on top of things, and they alerted us to it immediately,” Kopp said.

Wilmot Principal Joel Adamczyk sent an email out to parents on Wednesday, informing parents of the danger of Yik Yak.

“Sadly, we have found that this app is allowing students to verbally abuse each other as well as faculty and staff at Wilmot. Posts can be especially vicious and hurtful since there is no way to trace their source and it can be disseminated widely,” Adamczyk wrote. “This is a learning opportunity for students on how their behavior and the choices that they make can impact others and their own future in a digital world. We are addressing this issue at school. We ask that you have a meaningful conversation with your son/daughter.”

Adamczyk’s email was well received by parents, Kopp said.

“We received phone calls thanking him for taking action, and keeping them engaged, and trying to curtail its use,” Kopp said.

School staff members have talked with many of the students, Kopp said.

“There are just as many kids upset about what is going on as adults, it appears,” Kopp said.

At Westosha Central High School, staff heard about issues with Yik Yak on Wednesday, and by Thursday, the app had been partially blocked at the school, Westosha Principal Lisa Albrecht said. By Friday, the school’s GPS address was expanded and the app was completely blocked.

“We were able to let them know that we are a school, and what is happening will disrupt the functions of the school and not contribute to the positive culture that we want, and so we were able to successfully have it blocked,” Albrecht said.

Albrecht also sent an email to school parents about Yik Yak and the importance of making good choices.

“What we are trying to emphasize is that we promote academics, but we also promote character traits. And one of those character traits is called integrity. And the key is that anybody can make the right choice and the right decision when you are being overlooked by a parent, by a teacher, whatever. The question is: Can you make that same correct decision when nobody is looking?” Albrecht said.

Albrecht said that Yik Yak and other social media such as Facebook do not have to be negative.

“Unfortunately, for those people who love to start fires – it could be adult members in the community, it could be anybody, it doesn’t have to be kids – it’s just a cowardly way to demean people if it is used in a negative sense. But on the other side of the spectrum, it could be a positive thing too. It all depends what you put on it,” Albrecht said.

Kopp said he believes Yik Yak will soon meet its demise.

“The good news is that there doesn’t seem to be any money in Yik Yak. There’s no advertising, it’s a free app, so it’s probably going to die a quick death because there is absolutely no money in it,” Kopp said.


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