Story by Mary Zielke, Arts Columnist
Although Aquinas College does their best to listen to the students and individuals who go to the school, there is no direct way for people to list their observances in an anonymous way. Redflags of AQ instagram account is a page where students can submit their concerns. This account is not affiliated with the college, which means that this page is not associated directly to Aquinas itself. Also, due to the privacy of the person running the account, they remain anonymous due to confidentiality purposes, going under the name of “Dog Whistler” instead.
As stated in their account, the creator makes it known that, “Know that you all [the students] deserve better, and we are here as a place to vent.” The page does not post about misconduct, since there would need to be evidence to back up those claims. The inspiration for this was to create a memorable page, and how other Aquinas accounts were getting traction. Overall, the individual states, “It’s a helpful way for students to get out any grievances they have with the college.” In order to keep the direct messages sent to this account private, they make sure that no exposure to who sent the details is known, blocking out the user’s name and profile picture. They say, “I try to ensure that the stuff I post is accurate. If I have to double back on something, I am never afraid to do that.”
There are some instances where groups try to take down these issues, but whether students agree or not with the commentary that is posted, most followers seem to react positively to the circumstances that occur on our campus. The individual comments, “The experiences of students are hardly inaccurate. For example, a student came forward to tell me about how the food at the donation center was expired.” This is one instance where Aquinas can make sure to keep certain areas updated and in turn learn from the students.
Despite the fact that not all of the details are 100 percent accurate, in which some verifications have been stated under some posts, the account gets about 15-20 submissions per semester. Not all of the submissions sent are posted due to complaints, but there appears to be plenty of reports that seem to be almost suppressed, and this account allows that information to be exposed in a safe manner.
The Saint 