Warning: the content discussed in this article may be disturbing to readers, including mentions of sexual assault and school shooting threats.
Alisa Dougherty, Page Editor, contributed to this report.
Early last week, a currently unidentified person on Instagram began harassing and threatening South Salem High School [SSHS] students. The account was taken down by Facebook, Instagram’s parent company, on Sunday.
The harasser posted racist and ableist messages targeting certain students, specifically students belonging to historically marginalized groups–members of the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and women, particularly women of color. The harasser published posts about raping female students at South and threatened to commit a school shooting.
The date identified by the Instagram user for the threatened attacks is not a day on which students are scheduled to be in school, South Principal Tiffin explained in an email to parents. She is working closely with the Salem Police Department [SPD] to determine the owner of the account.
“To date, authorities do not believe there is any imminent danger for SSHS students or staff,” Tiffin added in the email.
The harasser began to target South students, specifically Mikori Sheridan ‘22, late on Nov. 30. Sheridan says that the person began to post racist and inappropriate things about her after she had gotten into an argument with a random person in the comment section of a post.
She reached out to police “a day or so” after the first post about her. She said that when “an especially disgusting video” was posted, her ballet teacher encouraged her to alert the authorities and so she did.
Along with reaching out to local law enforcement, Sheridan posted on social media, asking people to report the account and providing documentation of the racist and sexist attacks. Sheridan and her peers led an effort to get the account removed and many people posted to raise awareness.
The first reports of the threats and harassment led to messages from Instagram saying that the account “likely [did not] go against [their] Community Guidelines.” Instagram representatives encouraged those who reported to “unfollow, mute or block” the account. After that, the reports were ignored and received no response from Instagram.
After Instagram failed to delete the account, the account holder remained active and other students began to comment and send messages defending Sheridan. The owner of the account began to post hateful and disgusting things about these students in response to their defense of Sheridan and others.
Sam Welborn ‘23, was one of these students. He was directly targeted after commenting on one of the posts to defend a group of girls the account holder was threatening.
Welborn says that dozens of students were in the comment section defending the students being targeted by the account. He theorizes that he was picked out of the comments and posted about because he is a minority, specifically a feminine and queer man. He says that this identity can make him more susceptible to hate.
“I was a little uncomfortable when someone first alerted me that there was someone attempting to publicly humiliate me. But I was mostly unbothered by it as I have never, and will never, be ashamed of my femininity,” Welborn told the Clypian.
Another student, Hannah Hiers ‘21, became a target as she too came to the defense of her peers. She sarcastically commented on posts to defend herself and others after the account had attempted to use her friend’s autism as an insult. She also joined other students by reporting many of the posts and comments on the account, as well as the account itself.
“I don’t think anyone would have ever been in immediate danger… but this account, even if it wasn’t serious, was disrespectful and was taking everything over the line, especially when they told people who were critical of him to off themselves,” Hiers said.
As posts and threats escalated, school and district administrators were notified. Tiffin first became aware of the situation on Friday evening after receiving a text from a teacher. This was followed by an email from a parent and a call from SafeOregon that same night, Tiffin recalled.
SafeOregon is a program which allows “students, parents, school staff, community members and law enforcement officers to report and respond to student safety threats.” Any person can go to the SafeOregon website and log a tip which will then be analysed and passed on the necessary parties.
“On Saturday and Sunday, the SafeOregon tips continued and the emails came flooding in with videos and screenshots. The concern from our community was impressive,” Tiffin further explained to the Clypian.
Tiffin began to work with SPD over the weekend and continues to do so. She told the Clypian that it is her understanding that an officer and detective have been assigned to the case. She has had continued communication with the officer.
Salem Keizer School District [SKSD] administrators were first notified of the account on Saturday morning after an email from a student communications intern, according to Communications Director Sylvia McDaniel. The student also sent the email to an SPD officer.
After that email, SKSD forwarded the information to their threat assessment team, who also connected with law enforcement.
“We have phenomenal students…[who] see these threats and bring it to our attention,” McDaniel added.
The account was finally taken down on Sunday. This came after another student communications intern contacted Facebook. He arranged for the account to be taken down and the IP address banned. The account itself was preserved on internal Facebook servers for law enforcement.
Investigations continue into the account, as law enforcement and school officials try to identify the poster.
“The posts are still being looked into and we encourage any of our students or families who know the poster to contact [SKSD’s] Safety and Risk Management. You can remain anonymous,” Chris Baldridge, SKSD’s Director of Risk, Safety and Security, said.
A common theme among people involved was frustration in how long it took for Facebook to remove the account. Administrators and students alike agreed that the delay was “appalling,” in the words of Welborn.
“Facebook needs to get it together. It should not have taken that long [to get the account removed],” McDaniel told the Clypian.
Despite the frustration with Instagram, and its parent company Facebook, those involved expressed a deep appreciation for the community’s efforts in opposing this account.
“I am incredibly proud of the reaction of our students who partnered with us to actively combat cyberbullying and cyber harassment, resulting in the termination of the account… I am proud to be a part of a community who takes care of their own, who does not support demeaning posts on social media and who is willing to stand up for what is right,” Tiffin told the Clypian.
Sheridan told the Clypian that her disappointment in the tech companies does not take away from her happiness that the account was taken down. She expressed her thankfulness for everyone who offered support, from teachers who were understanding to those who helped report the account. She told the Clypian that the community’s efforts helped restore her faith in humanity.
“I’ve been harassed and threatened before, but I never thought that people would be so willing to help before this ordeal. Now I know the truth about our community and I am so grateful that I live here,” Sheridan said.
Welborn expressed gratefulness for the students who helped deal with the account and took the threat seriously. He told the Clypian that his fellow students handled it as best they could given the circumstances. He added that he appreciates that the community recognizes the impact that cyberbullying can have on a person’s self-confidence.
Cyberbullying Information & Resources
Cyberbullying has been a major problem since social media began to grow in popularity. According to the Pew Research Center, 59% of teens in the United States reported facing bullying and harassment online. The most common site for cyberbullying is Instagram.
If you or someone you know is experiencing cyberbullying or online harassment, there are many ways to address it. One way is to reach out to a counselor, staff member, administrator or other trusted adult.
The students who were targeted by the account encouraged those who find themselves in similar situations to report the harassment.
“Report as much as you can, get a lot of screenshots from the get-go… And finally, you’re not alone, as was shown with all that happened. We have a strong community here in not only South Salem but the whole district, and there are many people who are more than willing to help,” Sheridan offered as advice.
Students, parents, staff and community members can all report things through SafeOregon. To log a tip with SafeOregon visit their website or send information to the email: tip@safeoregon.com. Tips can also be reported by calling or texting the number 844-472-3367. The reports will then be processed by SafeOregon, who will contact school administrators, such as Tiffin, with any urgent information.
Along with this, report cyberbullying to the platform on which it was experienced. Accounts and individual posts can be reported to try and get them deleted and also provide a record for the future.
Reports can be filed with the local police department, as was done multiple times in the course of this case. They can also be filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or the local field office.
“Just call the police, trust me. If you don’t feel comfortable calling the police, email the FBI,” one of the students targeted by the account said. The student indicated that she wished to remain anonymous.
Welborn encouraged everyone to follow internet safety best practices, to try and mitigate cyberbullying from its source. Welborn made his account private and unfollowed everyone he did not know. He encourages others to do the same. Along with this, he told people to think before they post.
“You are not invincible and if you type something that you might regret and paste it for the world to see, there is seldom a chance that you can erase it.” Welborn said.
With cyberbullying remaining common as communication remains largely virtual because of the pandemic, it is important for everyone to know what to do if they or someone they know face online harassment.
