Opinion THE AMHERST STUDENT

Executive Board

comments. The risk of offensive content like this is exacerbated by Amherst’s comparatively small student body: Everyone knows each other, which makes calling someone out by name all the more harmful.

The harmful potential of Fizz, relative to the aforementioned platforms, is augmented by its lack of a consistent approach to privacy and content monitoring. The process for the deletion of a post usually first involves a report by a user and a review by a student moderator. There are two things which make this system flawed: the bias of the student moderators, who may have their own beliefs and personal ties to the community, and the potential for a post to cause harm before the moderator can respond to a report. The lack of a consistent, full-time, unbiased moderator staff means that harmful racist, sexist, homophobic, threatening, and/or violent posts can slip through the cracks.

Inconsistent moderation is emblematic of the company’s approach to safety concerns and trustworthiness. In 2021, student researchers at Stanford found that personally identifiable user information — names, emails, and more — was easily accessible to hackers. These researchers were later threatened by Fizz’s legal team. Privacy and data concerns are no small issue, and Fizz’s dismissal of this matter says a lot about its company values.

The most alarming aspect of Fizz is not only its potential for serious harm to individuals but also the way it presents a striking reflection of the student body. Aside from the vulgarity and the cyberbullying, many posts also affirm serious, community-wide concerns about racism, sexism, homophobia, the administration, professors, rape culture, mental health, and more. While more community forums about these subjects are necessary, this app is not the right place for intentional and critical community engagement focused on real change. The eagerness with which students criticize campus life on Fizz seems at odds with the widespread lack of involvement the student body has with organizations like the Association of Amherst Students. Energy directed toward Fizz should be redirected toward these campus resources if students want to see change that actually benefits the community.

Fizz, at its best, is a poor attempt to fulfill a social desire for anonymous expression. But at its worst, it capitalizes off students’ instincts for drama and controversy, dividing rather than uniting. It’s better left uninstalled.

Editors-in-Chief

Liam Archacki

Sam Spratford

Senior Managing

Dustin Copeland

Kei Lim

Managing News

Ethan Foster

Leo Kamin

Michael Mason

Managing Features

Sonia Chajet Wides

Caelen McQuilkin

Eleanor Walsh

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Tara Alahakoon

Yasmin Hamilton

Tapti Sen

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Stacey Zhang

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Alexander Brandfonbrener

Cassidy Duncan

Brianne LaBare

Madeline Lawson

Noor Rahman

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Hedi Skali

Slate Taylor

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John Joire

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Andrew Rosin

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Karina Maciel

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Andrew Kim

Brianne LaBare

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Claire Beougher

Slate Taylor

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Nina Aagaard

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Erin Williams

STAFF

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Robert Bischof

Digital Director

Sawyer Pollard

Social Media Manager

Emi Eliason

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