Students Alarmed at ‘Harmful’ AUC Confessions Post

By Dania Akkawi
Follow @daniaakkawi

A number of students have contacted the Student Union claiming they know the author of the controversial ‘suicide’ post on the AUC Confessions Facebook page last month and want him or her held accountable.

A group of students, including Marta Ashraf, founder of the mental health initiative Lilac and English and Comparative Literature Senior, claimed to have found evidence about the identity of the page admin.

Although not directly confirmed by the SU or official sources, Ashraf explained in her Facebook post that social media tracking and fast action helped a couple of students discover the admin’s identity, which they later revealed on Rate AUC Professors to be its admin, Ramy Gaballa.

Ashraf’s post also said that SU representatives verified this evidence.

But Atef told The Caravan that he would not disclose the admin’s name until there was more concrete proof and for fears of that person’s safety.

In the meantime, Gaballa has strongly denied all accusations through a post on his personal Facebook account saying that “the page named AUC Confessions isn’t mine.”

Gaballa has demanded an official apology for the accusations made against him, insisting that he has no affiliation with AUC Confessions.

“When a person says that Ramy Gaballa is the person who was harming others, this is unacceptable, cheap bullying … I am giving them a few days to rethink what they did, to apologize in front of the general public and to admit their mistake,” he told The Caravan. 

In his Facebook post, Gaballa said that he would resort to legal action if these accusations are not retracted and followed by an apology.

Meanwhile,  the online community campaign asking students to leave AUC Confessions is in full swing.

This is in tandem with an on ground campaign that is still being planned to raise awareness and talking to students about the benefits of the Student Well-Being Office, Atef added.

AUC Community Takes Measures to Combat Suicide

A post about suicide on the AUC Confessions Facebook page on April 20 has sparked a fierce backlash in the community.

The post written by an anonymous administrator of the page pledged to help anyone trying to commit suicide to “die peacefully” and release “any notes you wish to publish as soon as you die”.

While the original post was quickly taken down and followed by another explaining it was simply a “social experiment”, the Student Union (SU), Student Rights Coalition (SRC) and many AUCians have condemned the page and said they would boycott it.

AUC Confessions has been losing many of its 5,000 members who have instead created an alternative called Confessions X.

In the meantime the SU’s Associate Chair of Political Representation Omar Atef says it is necessary to focus on awareness campaigns highlighting issues of mental health and trauma.

He said that the SU had reached out and consulted with Director of the Student Well-being center Dr. Ola Morsy to raise awareness of this important issue.

Morsy spoke to higher administration on whether or not the University should write an official email but told The Caravan that they decided the SU are the best channel for addressing this issue.

“From the SU, it will be more student to student… They will be more influential than just a statement from higher administration,” said Morsy.

Morsy also spoke to The Caravan on the issue of suicide and her concerns regarding the AUC Confessions post.

“I learned that on the same day, because of what was written, lots of people left the page. The admin did a very weird thing, he had lots of requests and waiting lists, so when he found that many people left on that day, he accepted all the waiting list requests so the page won’t lose lots of its participants,” said Morsy.

Many student clubs have also said they will start Suicide Awareness Collective Campaigns in collaboration with the Student Well-being unit, in hopes of educating the community about suicide.

Morsy shared that there was previously an anti-suicide campaign called “My Story Isn’t Over” as a response to the TV series, 13 Reasons Why, at the start of the semester.

Although the campaign has now ended, some of the posts were re-shared on the office’s official Facebook page as a reminder for any students going through depression.