Over the last several months, our school has had an account that anonymously posts about people. The account has had very nice things to say but has also become a source of negative hateful speech. This account has been used to cyberbully people anonymously. While the account has been up for a while, there has been recent action taken against the account. 

One of Kaiser High School’s students anonymously started an Instagram account titled “kaiserhs_tea,” where Kaiser students have made negative comments about other students. Some of these comments included body shaming and downgrading a lot of girls. This Instagram account has brought down students in unpleasant ways and has even repeated untrue rumors. 

With the popularity of this account, many parents have been informed about the account and what has been posted. A parent came to the office to complain about the actions of the account. This led to the school administration being notified and the investigation overseen by the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE).  The HIDOE said that the account needs to be taken down, as it is a form of cyberbullying. If not, it could lead to exploitation. 

It is never acceptable to bully someone or post hateful things. You never know what someone is going through personally and the whole account is very immature. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, which should be a time when we are nice to one another and choose kindness. But when you hear about the kinds of things being said or posted on the account, it is very sad. As a community and school, we should focus on trying to bring up our peers and doing things that benefit others. I’m sure many have looked at the account before to see what was on there, but it’s different when you have been posted there humiliated and embarrassed. About 20% of kids have experienced bullying in different types of forms, including cyberbullying. This account is a form of cyberbullying that can get you in trouble with the law and your school.

Kaiser students also expressed a dislike of the account. Twelfth grader Kaya Ketter described Kaiser’s tea page as “ignorant and ill-mannered.” She said she remembers when she first saw the Instagram notification pop up on her phone that said “kaiserteapage started following you.” She immediately thought how childish it was of a high schooler to start something like this. 

“I think that this account needs to be taken seriously because it can impact one’s mental health,” Ketter said. “This is not just something for fun to giggle about, this is cyberbullying.” 

“I don’t know much about this account, but regardless of knowing about it or not, I think most people would agree that this is idiotic,” junior Makenna Bowman said. “Like this is something that a sixth grader would do, not a high schooler.” 

Ally Tokunaga, in Grade 11, was asked how she thinks this tea page would affect students if they were on it. “I think people would start to feel bad about themselves and not even want to come to school anymore,” she said.  “They might feel self-conscious and judged.” 

Now, Kaiser’s tea page has been removed from Instagram, but this does not mean we should look past these issues. Cyberbullying goes beyond just posting false accusations or hurtful content about others. As a Kaiser community, we are responsible for lifting each other up, not bringing others down.