The rise of the account

Roberts’s email arguably emboldened the account holder. Their first Tweet, sent one day after the email, read:

“Dear Bryn, thanks for the megaphone ? and newfound attention. To my new readers: have a great weekend. See you on Monday.”

Several students and parents responded to the Tweets disapprovingly. They called it a “toxic” means of discourse and “childish.”

The false statistics and peculiar allegations spoke for themselves, but many found the anonymity egregious. Students scoffed at the excessive use of the word “allegedly.”

Over its short span, the account garnered little support.

Junior Arie Walker posted a message on the Opinion Board expressing her thoughts.

“As one of the few students of color at SPA, I can understand where you’re coming from regarding the lack of diversity at school,” she wrote. “There are more steps SPA could be taking to obtain a more diverse community. However, how you’ve chosen to take on this issue is beyond disrespectful.”

Roberts commented on the general attitude toward the account, saying “overwhelmingly our students want to make the right choices.”

He went on to expand on the ideas of productive and destructive discourse.

“I think it’s all part of growing and learning and maturing as a citizen scholar. But, it’s a process—it’s a journey. You don’t suddenly wake up to be flawlessly accurate every time,” he said.