Can you keep a secret?

Among the many notice boards in the hallway leading to the cafeteria, one stands out. Inspired by PostSecret.com, the Post Secret board was started by Mandy Inhofer (‘09) last year. It was successfully allowed students to post their secrets, and it has started discussions about various serious matters.

“I was inspired by PostSecret.com, the ongoing online community art project.” Inhofer said. “The secrets that Frank Warren posted on that site were so honest and shocking. It was both affirming and eye-opening to see that other people have the same fears and secrets that I do.”

From the beginning, Inhofer received a lot of support from the Student Activities Office including Art Scan, which oversaw the project. This year, Abby Nance (‘12) is in charge of the board, and she has a faculty advisor to help her when she doubts whether a secret should be posted or not.

The board was successful from the beginning due to the popularity of PostSecret.com. Nance believes the board seems to keep up its popularity this year.

“This year, a lot of the secrets I have been getting have been dealing with some form of romantic interest or love and things like that,” Nance said. “One of them was by a girl who was in love with a friend and she was afraid to tell him. A guy wrote back, not knowing who had posted that previous thing, but saying that he had the same problem and, you know, ‘if you promise to tell I promise to tell.’”

There have been several conversations between messages on the board and people who discuss the different posts. Secrets are of varying topics. There are silly ones discussing funny experiences, but others discuss sexual abuse and assault, suicidal thoughts or deep depressions.

“A secret talked about how someone had cheated on her boyfriend and told him she had been raped,” Inhofer said. “The conversation about that one got very heated very quickly.”

Many students seem to appreciate the Secret Board and see it as an outlet to bring up discussions on difficult topics.

“These are things that you don’t necessarily hear from day to day, but I think that they are really important things to talk about,” Ella Orngard (‘11) said. “Whether it is that someone is going through the same thing as you are, or it is something totally different that you would have never imagined.”

However, other students aren’t really aware of the Secret Board or they simply don’t totally approve of it.

“Sometimes it can be funny, but other times you realize how stupid people can be,” Jeff Emerson (‘12) said.

Anyone can send secrets to the Secret Board. To send in a submission, write your secret in a creative way and send it to SPO 1752. Nance then will make sure that it goes on the board, as long as it doesn’t contain any offensive language or other content degrading to groups or individuals.

Nance confessed that she loves her job, even though it is a great responsibility.

“To be the recipient of these secrets, of something people have never told anybody, something that is very personal to them, that’s a big responsibility,” Nance said. “Having people sharing these things with you is something that you can’t take lightly.”