By Jonathan Stankiewicz
I became a part of the story. As a journalist that is the last thing you want to happen. I know about ethics and I know about the “rules” we are supposed to follow. I followed them. To the best of my ability I followed them.
It all started last week with the two new Twitter accounts: @CCSUProblems and @CCSUProblems_. The first one to hit the Internet, @CCSUProblems, started two Sundays ago and @CCSUProblems_ followed three days after.
When I first saw @CCSUProblems I thought it was an authorized CCSU account. CCSU has many accounts from @CCSU for school news, the automated @CCSUToday for events or @CCSUBlueDevils for everything CCSU sports. I thought it would be easy to assume that they had again started a Twitter feed to help students pinpoint problems on campus. Upon a closer look there is no possible way CCSU would have okay’d this type of twitter feed for the school. Never.
It should be noted that both unauthorized feeds are both under violation of the CCSU logos and CCSU name copyright infringement will not be tolerated, CCSU Associate Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mark W. McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin added that CCSU’s licensing company, Licensing Resource Group, will be sending the people responsible for both feeds a cease and desist letter. So far CCSU doesn’t know who to send them to.
“We are determined to find them,” said a confident McLaughlin. Believe me, he isn’t happy.
When @CCSUProblems came out they started a hashtag, #ccsuproblems and other students immediately started using it and tweeting their own problems. As of Saturday at 11:30 a.m. this feed had about 270 followers in less than a week. Granted not everyone at CCSU on campus is on Twitter, but CANccsu, Central Activities has 227 followers and they’ve been tweeting since 2009.
“One thing to look forward to when drunk: dominos #ccsuproblems,” said @CCSUProblems in one of the first tweets. “what to eat at memorial hall today? the greasy pizza, the molding fruit or undercooked fries? decisions… #ccsuproblems,” they said in another.
No swearing by this feed, but stating the obvious on Twitter isn’t something to be proud of. Saying “who needs the gym when walking up the hill is enough of a workout,” isn’t something a rocket scientist alone could think up. Or even complaining about the kids in the student center with “that awkward moment when you pass by all the people dressed up in anime costumes in the student center” still is neither funny, nor a smart quip. With only 26 tweets, as of Saturday, @CCSUProblems may not be anything to really worry about.
The newer feed, @CCSUProblems_ is where things go really wrong for these two feeds. The easiest way to tell them apart, @CCSUProblems_ tweets in all CAPS for every single tweet. With less followers this feed has almost four times as many tweets except with mostly racist, insensitive tweets or a combination of the two. With a CCSU picture in the background of the newly renamed mascot Kizer, @CCSUProblems_ name is “Dat Blue Nigga Kizer.” Since I interviewed this feed they have changed the Nigga to Niggi.
They’ve also changed the background to a CCSU logo with @CCSUProblems_ underneath. I don’t like calling things blatantly racist because as a journalist I greatly honor and respect the first amendment, but this feed is beyond anything I thought someone could do on Twitter. I stopped counting the “n word” while writing this piece because it doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t be said and it doesn’t need to be. There is no need for the use of it.
Saying things like having sex with a girl “AND SEEING HER AROUND CAMPUS ALL THE TIME” isn’t really something that needs to be said. As important as this feed may think it is. Complaining about CCSU having “THAT ONE GROUP OF ASIANS” and that: “ALL THE WORKERS THAT AREN’T TEACHERS ONLY SPEAK SPANISH” is blatantly racist and is abusing the first amendment. It’s one thing for someone to think things in their mind and it’s another to say them publicly, while simultaneously using your universities name and logo.
My editors and I wanted to find out what these feeds wanted to do.
I started talking to both via direct messages on Twitter since no emails were provided in their profiles. They quickly realized that 140 characters isn’t a lot when trying to answer actual questions. I made myself known and I kept my integrity as a journalist in my words. Both feeds were asked the same questions. The answers were night and day.
The “nicer” @CCSUProblems took my interview quite seriously. They said they got the idea from other Twitter accounts from other schools. So, after looking one day they realized that CCSU didn’t have one so they decided to start one.
“I never made this twitter account in hopes for change or communicating with the actual school about issues I had, said @CCSUProblems. “I literally just made this for entertainment purposes. My tweets are inside jokes only Central students could understand and laugh at, and that is why I think it got popular so fast.”
@CCSUProblems noticed that they had been getting a lot of attention quite quickly and offered a possible positive change for the account in the future.
“I personally didn’t start this account to help @CCSU solve/pinpoint problems, but maybe in the long run I could use this account for those beneficial reasons and incorporate it somehow,” said @CCSUProblems.
Agreeing that the page could be offensive, @CCSUProblems said that everything is all in good fun and that the tweets are just random thoughts most Central students have. “I do think Central and the others against this account are making a big deal out of nothing,” @CCSUProblems said. “If you don’t like what I’m saying, don’t follow me.”
@CCSUProblems_ kept their answers in all CAPS, in case I couldn’t read what they were saying, I guess. They said that they started their feed as a way to express themselves and their discomfort to some of the unfairness CCSU has to offer, and added “AS FOR WHAT WE EXPECT TO GET WE JUST WANT GIRLS.”
For a split second before they sent me the email back I thought they were going to take this seriously. I was wrong.
I asked them if they were trying to be funny and they came back with “IS SLAUGHTERING UNICORNS FUNNY? BE CAUSE THATS THE BIGGEST INJUSTICE GOING ON CAMPUS IVE SEEN SO FAR.”
I asked them why are they doing this and they responded “TWITTER IS JUST A TOOL TO USE. WE MADE THIS JUST TO KEEP IT LIKE SCHOOL AND LIFE ARE HARD SO WHY NOT LAUGH AT A FEW FUNNY TWEETS ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL.”
On early Friday morning @CCSUProblems_ tweeted: “S/O to @jonstank for running the account @CCSUProblems.” After that, my Friday became very interesting. At first, I thought nothing of it. I went to work for 9 a.m. after I woke up and went about my business. Thinking about it for a while I emailed my managing editor and editor-in-chief just to give them a heads up that I was mentioned in one of their tweets.
Just before noon on Friday, Dr. Vivian Martin, head of the Journalism Department and The Recorder Faculty Advisor, direct messaged me about the tweet and said that some in the CCSU administration thought that I was behind the @CCSUProblems account. I frantically started emailing Dr. Martin and trying to figure out what my next step was. I told Dr. Martin that it wasn’t me and that I need to fix this. She told me to call McLaughlin and that’s what I did.
McLaughlin and I spoke for almost six minutes and before we both hung up he believed me and I felt better. He told me that if I want to be a journalist someday that I would have to be an idiot, not his word, to be a part of anything like what both of these feeds are doing. I agreed. I thanked him profusely and told him that like him I want to find out who is responsible for these accounts.
I’ve never tried to be a part of the story. I am an aspiring journalist and I take my work very seriously. I love journalism. More than food. I am a damn good reporter and my teachers and fellow writers will attest to that. I didn’t ask for any of this.
I transferred to CCSU from Manchester Community College and this is my home now. I’m a commuter yes, but this is my school and I respect it, love it, and stick up for it. No one can take that away from me. When I graduate this December, no one will be able to take away that I graduated from here. I’m a Blue Devil for life.
To both accounts, I say this: you are part of the problem. This is why CCSU is dead on the weekends and this is why students don’t care as much as they should about their school. Complaining is useful only if you are trying to help find solutions.
