With this “FemSoc” story that has been playing out across campus, York has been the centre of national attention and it’s safe to say, we haven’t covered ourselves in glory.
You’ll notice that the stories in student (and wider) media that attract the most attention invariably concern themselves with the ‘ism’s – racism, sexism, fascism – and feminism clearly isn’t the exception to the rule. You can predict the tedious inevitability of the arguments that surround each one almost to the second of each outraged backlash. Why “FemSoc” should have garnered such attention then, deserves looking at.
As much as we at Vision would like to claim that it was because everyone involved behaved with the consideration and compassion that is expected of intelligent, emotionally literate and articulate students, it’s simply not the case. What began as a normal society ratification process grew into a polarising and heated argument, where everybody involved suddenly and simultaneously forgot their sense of proportion.
The problem with campus life is that it really is a carbon-reinforced bubble, and social media does nothing to help disprove that. Rather than reminding us that the wider world exists, the internet only serves to make our own world smaller. For several weeks it was impossible to log onto Facebook or Twitter, without being bombarded by images of fresh-faced students by Central Hall holding a whiteboard earnestly declaring their belief one way or another, or by lengthy contentious arguments with increasingly furious hashtags. Suddenly, because of all of this saturation, in our perceptions it became this incredibly polarising issue, with more violent and hate-filled language aimed towards specific individuals and movements. Neither side was safe from the hatemail and abuse that was slung from the comforting safety of our laptops.
The problem of anonymity-fuelled hate speech is, of course, a national one, but it’s worth taking a step back and thinking about how much more ridiculous this anger is when it happens on such a small scale. Think about it. This is York. Chances are, you probably know someone who has a seminar with the object of your animosity, and you definitely have mutual friends on Facebook. The distance between you and the subject of your petty online comments is not that far at all, and the chances of bumping into them in Costcutter are much higher than with Samantha Brick.
University is supposed to be about broadening your intellectual horizons, instead of childish jibes at the people who disagree with you, why not try talking reasonably with them – you might just learn something.