If you have been anywhere on Case Western Reserve University’s campus the past few weeks, I’m sure you’ve read the news. Bad news though: It’s not news at all. It’s gossip (mostly espoused by people who don’t know what they’re talking about). We are apparently cool enough to have our own thread on the new app “Yik Yak.”

What is primarily an anonymous Twitter has taken the CWRUniverse by storm and everyone is spending their precious study time scrolling through 160 characters of mysterious rude comments instead. Though I must admit that some have been clever, most of what I have seen has just been degrading, belittling and outright immature. Many have been using the app to spread rumors through the CWRU community and attempt to damage reputations in the process.

The free app, which has caught the attention of higher organizations on campus, has been the cause of much dismay around the university. The use of this application was even brought up in Panhellenic Council this week and has been discussed in numerous student meetings around our university. But it’s not just a topic of discussion here at CWRU. Throughout the country Yik Yak has been making waves with backlash about the culture of bullying anonymously that has been embraced with open arms.

Let’s be real here: CWRU is not a typical school. We have some of the best classes in the world, and we are all super smart, but we aren’t the schools you see on TV. Our football game tickets are not hundreds of dollars a game, and we do not throw raging parties on the quad.

But this is not a bad thing. In fact, we often pride ourselves on the amazing community CWRU is.

It’s nice to know that the girl who lived across the hall from you your freshman year will stop and chat when you see her at Denny’s. Or that a professor whose class you dropped last semester will still smile and wave to you on the quad. Embrace that we have the opportunity to experience this amazing institution instead of attempting to pass out stereotypes.

The app is just that: an app. It is not a gateway to self-expression or a chance to change the world. It’s not going away but we can change the negative effect it has had thus far. Stop using it. Delete it from your phone. Stop wasting your time scrolling and revert back to the days of tweeting with an @ sign and posting on walls.

This community does not need to be treated as if it is in some bad teen movie. This is not the college version of Mean Girls. So get off your phones and talk to some real people. Yik Yak is an anonymous domain full of those who have no other outlet to speak, so go talk to them. Make a new connection in real life instead of trashing the beautiful community we live in.

Kassie Stewart is a junior political science major. Self described as Amy Poehler and Joe Walsh’s love child, her mantra is “no day but today.” She enjoys napping, sarcasm and peanut butter.