Starting the Conversation: #MyVoiceFSU

The Office of Civic Engagement aims to create an environment in which the Frostburg State community will become engaged in the democratic process. This prompted the creation of the Democracy Wall in the fall of 2017. The Democracy Wall is located in the Lane University Center across from Starbucks.

The interactive outlet is a free speech platform in which all members of the FSU community (faculty, staff, and students) are encouraged to post their ideas or thoughts on the political climate and current events. Patrick O’Brien, the director of the Office of Civic Engagement, emphasized that the Democracy Wall “is not for yik yak” or to be used as a “marketing platform for clubs and organizations”. He also explained that hate speech will not be tolerated on the board, as it does not fit in the realms of free speech. O’Brien continued to say that it is to be used to start conversation.

By using the hashtag, #MyVoiceFSU, members of the Frostburg community are able to contribute to the Democracy Wall by using their Twitter and/or Instagram accounts. Any time the hashtag is used in a post, it is pulled and posted to the Democracy Wall.

The primary goal of the interactive outlet is to have the FSU community become more involved in the democratic process and engage in open, respectful conversation with people that may have different views. The Democracy Wall is to be used as an innovative way to spark discussion and offer paths to social change.

Various regulations exist to create a safe and respectful free speech platform. Users are asked to communicate with respect and disagree without being disrespectful. Along the same lines, the Wall stands to start conversation, so users are welcome to begin or contribute to conversations that are important to them. Because of this, users are not invited to use the Wall for their marketing purposes or any unrelated concepts. Users must abide by the University Policy which states in The Community Standards Policy Statements, “the University is committed to the maintenance of freedom of speech, press, expression, association, and access to the established educational facilities and processes. At the same time, the University will not tolerate willful efforts of individuals or groups to limit the exercise of those freedoms by others or to disrupt the normal processes by which the University fulfills its educational mission.” The full document can be found at https://www.frostburg.edu/about-frostburg/student-affairs/policystatements.pdf

If violations to the aims of the Democracy Wall and University Policy arise, posts will be removed from the Wall and the individual will be notified via the medium of their initial post. A second violation can constitute an individual’s account becoming blocked, depending on the severity of the violation. The Wall is set up with a predetermined list of words that trigger posts to be blocked. Appeals can be made by emailing pobrien@frostburg.edu.

Members of the FSU community are encouraged to engage in conversation via their Twitter and/or Instagram accounts using #MyVoiceFSU to create dialogue amongst one another.

To access the Democracy Wall, please visit: http://www.tweetbeam.com/show?id=fKWD3

More information about the Democracy Wall can be found at: https://www.frostburg.edu/student-community-involvement/civic-engagement/Demo-engagement/Digital%20Democracy%20Wall.php