Yik Yak post sends GHS security into overdrive

It was a frantic scene at Granbury High School on Thursday; police cars crowded entrances to the school, assistant principals and faculty adopted grim expressions and determined walks, and the line of worried parents wanting to check their students out of class early wrapped around the building.

Why was all this occurring on what seemed to be a normal Thursday morning?

It all began with an anonymous threat on Yik Yak, a social media app which allows users to create and join discussions within a five-mile radius of their current location. It enables users to post comments anonymously, seemingly without any way to trace the source.

Message boards on the app have been used to harass students. Nefarious notes about students’ appearances have flooded the site in recent days. 

“It’s like Yelp, but with people’s personalities,” GHS senior Bryon Barnes said.

Yik Yak is available on most app stores, and allows users to comment on a post with options to upvote or downvote, potentially increasing a post’s visibility.

Before the incident Thursday, students were leaving school in tears due to some of the anonymous posts made on the app which were riddled with racist and sexual commentary, and other baseless claims about goings-on in school — chief among which was the claim that a student was bringing a gun to school.

A post made on the GISD Facebook page reassured students and parents that the threat had been neutralized.

“Law enforcement has apprehended a student involved in the anonymous posting via Yik Yak this morning, and this student admitted that the post was not legitimate. This matter has been turned over to law enforcement authorities, and we will pursue prosecution of any individual involved in these posts.”

Two students were apprehended for the incident.

It turns out the “anonymous” nature of the app is not entirely anonymous.

The app asks for your phone number and location upon creation of your account. It also gives a notice that your private details might be disclosed to law enforcement for any pertinent investigations. Yik Yak cooperated with the investigation, facilitating the quick identification of the sources of the post that a student brought a gun to school.

“Most people in this school aren’t really very concerned.” Bryon said. “This school is a pretty safe place. There have been concerns like this in the past ... and nothing has really come of it. I feel like this year is definitely the safest year that we’ve had. They’ve increased security so much.”

Fellow senior Jonathan Falcon agreed: “Granbury High School is actually a very safe place. They’re taking it very seriously even though this is, like, an empty threat.”

County law enforcement officials descended on campus almost immediately, and a Hood County Mobile Command Center was set up across the street at the Granbury Church of Christ.

While the threat about firearms was phony, the threats posed by the Yik Yak app remain very real.

Director of Communications for GISD, Jeff Meador, said the app has a negative impact on the student body.

“Yik Yak can be a troublesome social media app because the posts are anonymous and may lead to cyberbullying and other negative activity,” Meador said. “There will likely be ongoing conversations that hopefully will lead to change or at least some restriction in the vicinity of the school.”

Yik Yak is not new; there were similar incidents several years ago when it first hit app stores. It seems, after a period of inactivity, the app is back and wreaking havoc on an entirely new class of students.

For further developments and other information, visit the school’s website at www.granburyisd.org.