In the wake of numerous media reports about the controversial Afterschool app, two Lapeer High School students decided to flip the script. The students, who wish to remain anonymous, created the @lhsspark Twitter page as an alternative to the destructive, anti-social and downright nasty content found on apps likes Afterschool.
The allure of the Afterschool app, ironically, is anonymity. Students can post most anything they want about their fellow classmates without having to see how the sheer ugliness of those comments affects their intended targets. It’s cowardly and pathetic to say the least. Those who create the content are no better than those who are entertained by it.
Fortunately, two students decided not be bystanders to this negative cycle. @lhsspark is a positive twitter account that allows followers to send positive (mostly anonymous) messages out on twitter about LHS, students, and society in general. This account has already garnered a following of over 230 people, and is a positive force within our local Twitterverse.
The co-creators of the page were inspired by this fall’s Hero Round Table Conference held in Flint. The conference covers numerous topics including the Bystander Effect. This phenomenon is one we are all familiar with: humans tend to be far less likely to offer help to someone in distress when there are others around. Doing nothing ultimately changes nothing.
We all think, “surely someone will do something.” But, then there’s this: Be that someone.
“The (Hero Round Table) conference gave me the confidence to step up and speak out when I saw things that were wrong,” said one student.
The Hero Round Table, combined with the District’s OMNI forum, led these two students to decide that the only way to stop the bullying happening in and around the building, was to take action. It is their hope that this account, and the positivity it creates, only gets bigger.
These students, and the account’s followers, truly want to “spark” a change not only in Lapeer, but throughout society by ending the cycle of negativity and encouraging more people to be the positive change that will benefit everyone. These two students exemplify the character of LHS and we are proud of the stand they have taken. Let’s join them!
The Bolt 
Thanks for sharing the positive steps that these students took to help combat some of the derisive use of the AfterSchool App. Leadership like that is difficult to take on, as it usually puts you at odds with many of your peers. We were blessed with similar students in Mattawan when the Yik Yak App rolled through earlier this school year. A group of students left positive sticky notes on every locker in schools, and took to their own Twitter accounts to help raise a counter-voice to the destructive attitudes of others.
The actions your students took may not be well received by all students, but it’s certainly the right road to go down!
Well said, Ben!