"Let's kill UC's running back Saturday"
This is sickening.
This was posted in reference to the death of University of Cincinnati running back Chamoda Kennedy-Palmore on the popular anonymous social media Yik Yak. If you are unfamiliar with Yik Yak, it is basically an open forum for a**holes to anonymously post hateful things about other people. Racism, sexism, homophobia and alcoholism are a common topics on Yik Yak. It used for constant bullying, and even sometimes singling certain people out. I really can't understand what the appeal to Yik Yak is, but it's out there, and it is offending people daily.
The post about Chamoda Palmore sparked something. People agreed and disagreed with the anonymous poster. Although I have no personal connection to Palmore, my roommate and best friend grew up with him. To see her struggling with his death is hard enough as is, but then to have to watch her read these hateful comments is a whole other problem. I know that Ohio State football is practically a religion, and I love my Buckeyes just as much the rest of the students here, but we really need to put this in perspective. In the grand scheme of things, the Cincinnati-Ohio State game is just a football game. Right now it seems like much more than that, but 10 years from now, the outcome of the game won't matter. The death of Palmore will matter, though.
This will affect his family and friends for a very long time. He deserves the respect that we, as Buckeyes, would want if we lost one of our own. His death is especially tragic because he did everything right. He died due to someone else's carelessness. Palmore was on the road to great things. A personal friend of his, Katie Kitching, recalls the last time she saw him: "He was doing sprints and working out at 10 pm on a random weekday to achieve his dream of making the UC football team. He truly knew what it meant to follow your dreams. He was always the person to push you to achieve your goals."
Social media can be a great way to connect with other people grieving the same loss, but it needs to be used in a positive way. Anyone, including his family and personal friends, can see what is posted on the internet. And I am by no means saying that this is a campus wide issue. The majority of students have shown a great deal of respect. I have seen many positive posts on social media, but it is the ignorance of the small minority that will get attention. On behalf of all Buckeyes, I would like to offer our apologies and our condolences to the University of Cincinnati, Chamoda's family, the UC football team, and the Lakota East class of 2013.
