IRENA LI
Daily Staff Reporter
In August 2021, “the Yak
was back.” Popular anonymous
social media platform Yik Yak
reappeared in the Apple App
Store after being shut down
in 2017 due to concerns about
cyberbullying and a rapidly
declining user base. When Yik
Yak returned, college students
across the country flocked back
to the application, and students
at the University of Michigan
were no exception.
Compared to other popular
social media applications such
as Instagram or TikTok, Yik Yak
is unique in the way it empha-
sizes a connection with local
communities, only displaying
posts within a five-mile radius
of the user. Yik Yak’s biggest
distinction, however, is that its
users remain anonymous. Users
can “upvote” or “downvote”
anonymous “yaks,” with the
most popular content appearing
on the “Hot” page. Addition-
ally, in the updated app, posts
with five or more downvotes
are removed from the platform
altogether.
While yaks typically concern
a multitude of topics, content
posted within the vicinity of the
University has focused on the
ongoing sorority recruitment
process since Jan. 5, the day of
potential new member (PNM)
orientation. Some of the most
popular yaks during the week
of Jan. 9 include “this sorority
process is very humbling,” and
“sororities have hired the FBI to
downvote and delete any posts
criticizing them.”
Among the numerous sorority
recruitment yaks is one recur-
ring name — The PNM Princess.
Described by many students
as the “Gossip Girl” or “Radio
Rebel” of sorority recruitment,
The PNM Princess has a Reddit
account she has been using to
post somewhat confrontational
statements about the Michi-
gan sorority recruitment pro-
cess and her individual desire
— or lack thereof — to join each
house.
The
Princess’s
blog-style
Reddit posts, entitled “The
PNM Diaries,” have quickly
dominated the “Hot” page on
Yik Yak, prompting anonymous
responses such as, “Pnm prin-
cess better be typing fast I’m so
excited for the (tea),” and “PNM
PRINCESS I NEED U TO POST
BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP.”
In a Jan. 13 Reddit post rank-
ing the sorority houses at the
University, the Princess took
a shot at “popular” sororities,
claiming she was not sharing
her personal opinions of the
houses but rather ranking them
according to the “values” they
displayed in each round of rush
thus far.
“I’d like to preface this with
a simple warning — this isn’t
about *true* rankings,” the
Princess
wrote.
“Obviously
despite their racism, homopho-
bia, fatphobia, and other general
shittiness, the “top” sororities
will remain at the “top.” Funny
how the most hated people on
campus still maintain their
“popularity.” But hey, we’ve all
seen Mean Girls; we know how
this works.”
In an interview with The
Michigan Daily, the PNM Prin-
cess revealed she is a freshman,
but does not want her name pub-
lished at this time. She told The
Daily her original goal for “The
PNM Diaries” was to have a way
to organize her honest thoughts
about the rush process.
“Well, to be honest, it kind of
was a way for me to write down
my thoughts and opinions of
each house (and) at first it just
sort of helped me sort out my
own thoughts,” the Princess
said. “And then I (realized) I
hear way too much about what
the sororities are thinking, but
you never hear the other side
of the story,” the Princess said.
“We never hear what it’s like to
be a PNM.”
The Princess said PNMs
often feel as though they lack
a voice during sorority recruit-
ment because they are under
constant pressure to “perform”
well for each sorority. The Prin-
cess said if she were not anony-
mous, she would have been
dropped from every sorority for
publicly sharing her unadulter-
ated thoughts about the differ-
ent organizations.
“So, really PNMs cannot be
honest on a public platform…
because every house would
instantly drop you,” the Prin-
cess said. “I don’t think that
I would have been capable of
telling my story if it weren’t for
being anonymous.
When asked if she ever plans
to reveal her identity, the PNM
Princess was doubtful, saying
sharing that information would
isolate her from whichever
sorority she ends up joining.
“This is actually a secret that
I don’t really intend on ever tell-
ing anybody,” the Princess said.
“There are a select few people
who I seriously trust to know
my true identity and honestly,
regardless of how close I will
become with my future (soror-
ity) sisters, I doubt I will ever
tell anybody else because it’s
not worth becoming a social
pariah.”
However, many members of
“the herd,” as YikYak’s deni-
zens are known, have criticized
the Princess’s posts, including
“can’t wait for one of the (com-
puter science) majors to leak
pnm princess’s IP address,”
and “can’t wait to hear the pnm
princess after she gets dropped
from all the top houses.”
LSA sophomore Alexander
Manthous said the focus on
sorority recruitment on Yik Yak
is unrelatable and tiresome.
“I’ve definitely seen a ton
of sorority yik yaks, and hon-
estly those … bore me to death,”
Manthous said. “I can’t relate
to them. (The posts) talk about
specific things and specific
sororities and I just feel like I
don’t understand what they’re
referring to.”
LSA senior Hayley Sanders,
the vice president of recruit-
ment at Sigma Delta Tau, said
she appreciated the posts from
The PNM Princess.
“I was pleasantly surprised
with what (The PNM Princess)
said about philanthropy and our
DEI speech,” Sanders said. “We
worked so hard to make sure
we were saying exactly what
we wanted to say. And we’ve
been getting amazing feedback
regardless of what the Princess
says. So I don’t have any com-
plaints at all.”
Still,
Sanders
cautioned
PNMs to avoid pursuing sorori-
ties based on reputation or
social rank according to online
forums.
“As hard as it is to separate
yourself from (what the Prin-
cess writes), you will be so much
happier when you like being (a
member) of a sorority,” Sanders
said.
Daily Staff Reporter Carlin
Pendell can be reached at cpen-
dell@umich.edu.
News
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 — 3
ADMINISTRATION
XOXO, The PNM Princess: the rise of
anonymous social media during the UMich
sorority rush cycle
CARLIN PENDELL
Daily Staff Reporter
Popular online platform Yik Yak becomes hotspot for Greek life commentary during
recruitment season
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
DESIGN BY SAM TURNER
BECCA MAHON/Daily
Proposed legislation will allow Anderson survivors to sue the
University
Bills to provide a 30-day window to file lawsuit outside of the statute of limitations, remove use the defense of government immunity
Trigger warning: Mentions of sexual assault
On Jan. 4, State Senator Tom Barrett (R-Char-
lotte) announced plans to introduce legislation that
would aid victims of former University of Michigan
athletic doctor Robert Anderson in pursuing legal
action against the University.
These bills would provide Anderson survivors
with a 30-day window to sue the University for its
role in the abuse outside of the statute of limitations.
The legislation would also remove the University’s
ability to use the defense of government immunity.
In a Jan. 4 press release, Barrett emphasized
Michigan lawmakers’ responsibility to take action
against sexual abuse.
“As lawmakers, we have a moral duty to update
our laws to protect survivors and provide them with
legal recourse against institutions that enable abus-
ers, even when those institutions are agents of the
government,” Barrett said. “The university has not
denied these tragic events happened, therefore, we
are obliged to provide a path forward to justice for
the victims.”
White Law PLLC, a law firm located in Okemos,
Michigan, represented over 160 victims of former
Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics
doctor Larry Nassar and currently represents doz-
ens of Anderson survivors. Alexander Rusek, a
senior associate attorney with White Law PLLC,
said in an interview with The Daily that Barrett’s
proposed legislation would provide an opportunity
for survivors to pursue legal action decades later.
“(These bills) will give survivors of Dr. Ander-
son the opportunity to bring their case in the court
because many times in Michigan, our statute of
limitations limits survivors from bringing lawsuits
only because of how long ago the abuse happened,”
Rusek said. “The science and research shows us that
survivors, in general, of childhood sexual abuse
don’t come forward — if they ever do — until approx-
imately age 48 to 52 … (T)hese bills (would) allow
survivors to have access to justice going forward …
(and) remove the statute of limitations.”
Nassar survivor Grace French founded The Army
of Survivors, an organization dedicated to raising
awareness about the systemic sexual abuse of ath-
letes and protecting victims by creating a system
that holds perpetrators accountable. The Army of
Survivors works to create and allocate supportive
resources for survivors of sexual violence, accord-
ing to their website. French said Barrett’s legislation
would be a great step forward in helping survivors
find justice.
“I think the legislation is a win for survivors and
it’s really giving access for these survivors to come
forward and … get the justice that they deserve,”
French said. “This is definitely not the end of what
we hope to do in the future for survivors in Michi-
gan, because there’s so many more people that we
want to make sure that have access to justice, but it’s
a really good step in that direction.”
Julia Schettenhelm, LSA junior and Communica-
tions Director for the University of Michigan’s chap-
ter of College Democrats, wrote in an email to The
Daily that College Democrats approve of the legisla-
tor’s efforts to support survivors.
“We stand with the Anderson survivors and con-
tinue to support the Hail to the Victims movement,”
Schettenhelm wrote. “As such, we agree that offering
this kind of support to survivors is the right thing to do.”
In an email to The Daily, Margaret Beste, LSA
senior and vice chair of College Republicans at the
University of Michigan, said they also support the
legislation.
“Legislation that supports survivors of sexual
abuse, assualt, and harrassment, especially in navi-
gating the emotional and material challenges of the
judicial system, is a wholly worthwhile pursuit,”
Beste wrote. “The presently outlined pieces of the
proposal, including a 30-day window for survivors
to file suit against the University and the removal
of procedural obstacles, appear to be sensible and
meaningful steps to help survivors obtain justice.
We look forward to learning more about the phras-
ing and implementation of the details outlined in the
proposal and how we might help move the legislation
forward.”
Rusek weighed in on the importance of this leg-
islation to people with a wide range of backgrounds
and political affiliations.
“I think that it’s important that people know
that… – no matter what your background or politi-
cal affiliations – this is legislation that everyone can
get behind,” Rusek said. “Bipartisan effort is really
powerful and sends a message to the enablers and
perpetrators of sexual abuse in the state that we’re
not going to stand for it anymore. And (they’re) going
to be held accountable for it.”
Read more at MichiganDaily.com