As many may know, there is a page on Facebook called Colorado Mesa University Confessions, and it has a following of approximately 7,000 people. It functions as an anonymous spot for people to say just about whatever they like, granted their submission makes it past the admins that relay the post onto the page.
The confessions range from the occasional harmless comment to the confessions dominating the page that some may consider “too honest.”
Rather than being a place for students to talk about real issues, it remains a place for students to be inappropriate and express their feelings about their boyfriend(s)/girlfriend(s) unashamedly.
Legitimate assistance has been asked for on the page, however, there are several sources besides the CMU confessions for those actually seeking help that want to remain anonymous.
John Marshall, vice president of student services, advocates the many services that CMU offers to its students, many of which are anonymous and can offer actual help for those really needing it. Marshall recommends this over posting on the Facebook page.
“If a student is facing a real problem, that’s the last place they should get help because if they are going to put a real problem out there, we would have no way to support them,” Marshall said.
From suicide and sexual assault hotlines to actual contact with the staff and faculty that could offer assistance. The real help can’t be achieved when an anonymous post on a site completely open for strangers to comment whatever they would like is used.
Rather, sites such as You@CMU, an online and completely anonymous resource for students to use, offers several options to help with a struggle a student is facing.
“You can do self-assessments, you can get resources, Ted Talks, connect with counseling all those kinds of things anonymously at 1 am from the privacy of your dorm room,” Marshall said.
There are multiple resources that CMU offers to students that can aid them in getting help and achieve real progress with a problem they might be facing.
Some students may feel CMU Confessions is a good place to vent that should be used. The significance may be determining whether what is being released is just a humorous conundrum, or if it is a legitimate problem that could benefit from the help of others.
The page, when showed to fellow students tend to get one of two reactions: either a gasp at what was on the page or a chuckle at what some are willing to type for everyone to see. This can create good or bad images for the page, depending on the sense of humor of the reader, and one might worry that this could reflect onto the school.
However, individuals writing these messages don’t represent the school and the page states that it isn’t part of the school in any way and is strictly for entertainment.
While writing posts to get laughs is what the page is made for, CMU administration hopes students take real problems to the anonymous sites and resources utilized by the school to get the assistance needed.
