Community needs educated on repercussions of social media

In 2017, it can be easy to adopt the idea that racism has been demolished or, at the very least, has diminished in its presence in society. This is an idea that ultimately is untrue, as proved time and time again by the actions of people throughout the nation. This is an issue that does not stop in the large, widely-populated cities; rather it is lurking right here at home, shown in the many racially discriminatory actions of students or student groups in the academic institutions of MHK.

The most recent incident that has people outraged took place on social media by a Kansas State University student where social media was used to promote a racially discriminatory joke. The offender, a member of K-State’s family of the year, posted to their Snapchat a picture of two people in white K-State ponchos during the football game Oct. 21 with their hoods up and a caption saying “Newest members of the K-State Kool Kids,” referencing the Ku Klux Klan.

Not long after, the post became viral and immediately got a negative response from the community.

Craig Robinson, a spokesperson for the student and her family,  gave an interview to K-State’s The Collegian on the incident, claiming that the actions of the student did not represent the family.

“It is unfortunate and it was never the intent of the participants in the photo,” Robinson said to The Collegian.

K-State’s Vice President for Communications and Marketing Jeff Morris has been reaching out to local news outlets to give statements on the issue on behalf of the university.

“Just because an individual posts something on social media does not represent Kansas State University,” Morris said to KSNT News. “People have freedom of speech they can do whatever they want on social media.”

It is the agreement of The Mentor editorial board that, while people may be allowed to do whatever they want on social media, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there won’t be repercussions, nor should racist behavior be allowed to continue due to lack of education on the topic.

In the digital realm, it is easy to become desensitized, in a way, to social issues that don’t directly affect us. It is easy to adopt the idea that with the click of a “delete button,” one can erase all traces of something that can cause a bad reputation. But, digital media comes with repercussions that can blow up in an instant, or lie dormant until the day of the big job interview. Ultimately, it comes down to thinking before you post, and showing some empathy for those of social groups other than ours.

Furthermore, the normalizing of derogatory jokes in society is simply wrong and ignorant. There is a time and place for jokes and there are some things that are best simply left out of humor. As a society, it’s time to push away from the ignorance held throughout society on controversial topics. It’s time to talk about them, and get educated.

The K-State Kool Kids incident is one to be talked about, one that will hopefully educate the community on the repercussions of social media and ignorance.