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

