Wellesley FML’s benefits overshadow lack of anonymity

Being a college student, even more specifically a Wellesley student, brings with it a lot of frustration. Frustration about homework, parties, and people all build up with no real outlet for expression. As of this week, Wellesley students now have their very own website to vent: Wellesley FML.

Wellesley FML is a new forum through which one can express frustrations about being a Wellesley woman, dealing with the administration or even social issues. It provides students with the chance to communicate their dissatisfaction with any aspect of Wellesley life, anonymously. Beyond simply the humorous aspect of reading the funny situations in which people find themselves, Wellesley FML shows students that they are not alone in their dissatisfaction. It tells a person that she is not the only person who waited until the night before to write her research paper, nor is she the only person to have been left behind by the Senate bus. The website allows the members of the campus community to share their missteps and fumbles through their college experience and to get the things that bother them off their chests.

One of the biggest downfalls of Wellesley FML is that nothing is really anonymous at a school with a community as small as Wellesley’s, even though those who post seem to have anonymity. Most of the FML comments that are posted can be traced back to a very select group of people or sometimes even to one specific individual, which essentially defeats the purpose of a so-called safe space where one can express herself. Students who post particularly embarrassing or offensive FML’s may be discussed and then harassed for what they posted.

An unnecessary and irritating aspect of Wellesley FML is the comments about each FML that can be added by anyone reading the site. Those who post their FML stories are not looking for comments or feedback—they are just sharing particularly embarrassing or annoying moments concerning Wellesley. Insults and judgments about what is posted are unnecessary. After posting about procrastinating, no one wants to hear that it is their own fault or that they are lazy. Some of the comments people post are vindictive, cruel and sometimes attack posters even more than flamers on community.

Those who post use the site to vent, but it is usually humorous. Wellesley FML is full of self-deprecating humor that helps everyone else feel better about their own FML moments, and that is something this campus needs—a place to show Wellesley students that not every college moment is great, and in fact, many of them make us think, “FML.”

If you can't get enough FML posts, check out Harvard FML, MIT FML, BU FML, and the orginal FML.  Which is your favorite?

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Enter the characters in the image above:

log out