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At the start of a new school year, a series of new Instagram accounts made their debut. The accounts cover a wide variety of topics, from posture to crushes, all with one similarity: Encinal High School.
The accounts are mostly lighthearted and give the student body a reason to laugh. There are some, however, which do not. More recently, an account under the name, “@encinalredflags,” began posting screenshots of Google Form responses with jeopardizing messages. The Google Forms were sent anonymously but provided the first (and sometimes last) names of individuals whose characters were in question, before promptly making serious allegations about the person. The account also featured a very accusatory Google Form about a teacher at the school. The account was deactivated soon after.
“I thought that it might have gotten out of hand eventually,” said Senior Gabriel Janssen. “But it really became a problem after personal problems and information like that came out publicly and some people really got hurt.”
While some accounts tend to hurt students' feelings, others take their humor to an extreme and invoke fear.
One of the most popular accounts, “@ehsbathroomfeet,” accepts submissions of pictures of people’s calves and feet in their most vulnerable state, using the toilet. In order to achieve the “best” angle, submitters bend down and angle the camera below the stalls, going completely unnoticed by their victim.
“I thought it was funny, until I became the victim,” said an anonymous student. “Suddenly I was scared to go to the bathroom.”
While discouraging, light-hearted accounts prevail and continue to post their positive content with the objective to create a sense of community after a tiresome two years of isolation. “@Ehssleep,” is an account that accepts submissions of people who’ve fallen asleep in funny places and positions, around campus.
“Everyone is taking pictures of them sleeping, every grade is doing it and it’s something everyone can do,” said sophomore and owner of the account, Rubye Roza. “It just feels like we’re all together doing something that’s fun and funny.”
An account under the name, “@ehshallwaycrush,” which seeks to uplift the student body, has created a safe space for our school where students can confess their feelings for one another while remaining anonymous.
“We believe if we made an account that was positive and made people feel good about themselves or made other people feel good by sending it anonymously, our school would become a happier place,” said one of the account owners. “I think knowing that someone admires you boosts your confidence and gives you the hope to keep going.”
Katherine Mejia contributed to this article.
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