We all marvel at the idea of being able to anonymously confess our love to our long-time crush. Being able to do so online where everyone can read it makes the notion even more fun. What will they think? Will they respond? Are they already taken? We can now get answers to all of these questions through DU Crushes on Facebook, with the convenience of still being able to hide behind the keyboard if it goes poorly.
But I fear the popular Facebook page has headed in a negative direction. While I still certainly waste too much time laughing at the over-the-top requests for DU’s most attractive students to take off their pants, but some of the messages have gone too far. It started with a few friendly jokes about how hot someone’s abs are, but quickly escalated into something much more.
They’ll call out their peers by name, and get into the nitty gritty of what they “want to do” to the guy from the gym with the sexy biceps and pretty eyes. It’s funny, yes, and it just might give your desired lover a nice confidence boost, but have we stopped to think that comments like these might be degrading for the person who is called out? What if their name is tagged and it appears on their Facebook wall for their friends, family and potential employers to see? If these comments were made not in the virtual world, but in the light of day, they would be considered sexual harassment — a crime taken very seriously because of how belittling it can feel for the victim. The same can be said for the other Facebook page with a similar purpose, “DU Hookups.”
Now, nobody is saying that DU is full of sexually-harassing students. Most of these DU Crushes posts are meant in good fun — sent about friends just to make them laugh. To my knowledge, nobody has complained to the secret administrator of the page, and the messages keep coming. But DU, it’s time to regain a bit of our class.
Some of the posts have become so detailed that students have commented on them in shock. One student responded to a disturbing message saying these “[Messages] aren’t even mildly amusing anymore.” I’ll agree that there is a point to which joking sexual objectification can be funny, but it’s a very fine line to walk, especially when the same comments made in a non-joking sense can be extremely hurtful. It’s not worth the risk.
The most recent DU Crushes posts have been a bit more tame. Students have taken to advertising their student organizations or USG campaigns. Many posts are genuinely kind, calling their crushes “cute” or “beautiful.” I was worried about its newest Snapchat feature — where students can Snapchat in photos to be posted on the page. That had the potential to go in the wrong direction, but most of the photos have been entertaining, yet tame.
DU Crushes certainly has a fun place in our campus culture, but let’s try to maintain this recent trend and keep our dirtiest sexual thoughts to ourselves.
