IU Admirers charms campus

Before advanced technology, the common way to send an anonymous notice of admiration was through a note or letter.

A trend on college campuses has changed that.

The IU Secret Admirers Facebook page has gone viral with nearly 6,000 likes.
The site allows students to submit a note to someone they admire in a public but anonymous fashion.

Matt Ruehling started the page March 7. Ruehling, a sophomore informatics major, had seen a similar page for a different school.

It’s unclear what started this trend, but numerous schools throughout the United States have launched their own Facebook and Twitter campus secret admirers pages. Purdue recently made its own Facebook page shortly after IU’s went viral.

“I thought it’d be cool to start one here,” Ruehling said. “It’s an easy way for people to thank someone for something and appreciate them.”

The IU page has a Google form where users can submit their posts. They are then sent to the page’s administrators. No names — just the notes that were sent.
“I figured maybe we’d get a thousand,” Ruehling said. “But it went from 500 likes to 2,000 likes in one night.”

During the past few days, the page has received around 2,000 anonymous posts.
With the unanticipated heavy traffic, Ruehling recruited best friend Jonas White, a sophomore apparel merchandise major, to help.

Together, they go through submissions and post them to the page.

The page has been the center of attention for many students during the past week.
“It’s a new thing for people to do and talk about. People are always curious to see if they’re being posted about,” White said.

Justin Garcia, a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, said he believes this trend alludes to the interest in the pursuit of romance among the IU community.

“Dating culture is virtually nonexistent on most college campuses in the U.S. today,” Garcia said. “Outlets like this become a way for people to find others in their local community.”

Posts on the page vary from true, heartwarming declarations of admiration to posts that may be seen as crossing certain social lines.

Various students have different opinions of the page.

“I think that’s it’s funny,” freshman Ashton Shirley said. “You can state what you’re truly thinking without having anyone know who said it ... but at the same time, if (a post) was being posted about me, I possibly wouldn’t like it.”

Others believe it’s a new way to connect with other students.

“I think it’s a cool way to connect with other people and say things you normally wouldn’t be able to,” freshman Lindsay Cate said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it otherwise.”

Some students said they believe it’s childish.

“I think that it’s immature and dumb,” freshman Luke Woolbright said. “I think that if you like someone, you should tell them instead of being like an eighth-grader.”

Garcia said he believes that the page at first is “charming.”

“But, the anonymity that allows users to post without fear of public rejection can also create a situation where some might push things a bit too far by being too detailed or making the object of their attractions feel uncomfortable,” Garcia said. “I sincerely hope that doesn’t become the case, as on its own this can be a fun way for people in the IU community to connect.”

Ruehling and White made the page for students to have good fun.

“Honestly, we made it because it’s funny,” White said. “We mean for no one to feel that they’re being harassed. It’s all in good fun, and if (a post) is obviously not right, we won’t post it.”

The pair recently added three people as page administrators to help the site’s traffic.

They also plan to make a Facebook application for the page in order to decrease the numerous posts on fans’ timelines and allow fans to look at posts on their own time.

“You know the site and app, ‘Texts From Last Night’? That’s the aim,” Ruehling said.