Bowling Green State University (BGSU) has official social media pages across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. However, some students have expressed concerns in the comments of posts on some of its platforms, yet students feel like they don’t get a great response.

Student Aubri Nunez said, “I think that it’s a little concerning that there’s a chance that the comments might be filtered… If I’m coming to a public university, I want to feel safe, and I want to know that my public university also feels that they want to protect me as well.” 

Daniel Topel, a freshman BGSU student, said, “If they are sweeping [comments] under the rug and trying to kind of hide it, that’s terrible. It should be addressed and not hidden… it shouldn’t be kept away.”

Student Aiden McNamara said, “I follow [officialBGSU], and sometimes I like the posts.” 

When asked about how he thinks the university should handle negative comments, he said, “[Some comments] are like a personal opinion… saying the university sucks, well that’s your experience, your experience is what you make of it.”

Director of BGSU’s social media pages, Brianna Blackburn, explained how the university approaches comment moderation. She said the university works to respond to as many comments as possible to ensure students have access to accurate information and to increase engagement on their accounts.

She also addressed how criticism is handled, noting that the university may privately reach out in certain situations. She said, “We contact students through a private message to provide resources if a student expresses a concern or we need additional information to address an issue they are experiencing.”

She added, “BGSU is committed to an environment where all perspectives are welcome and does not delete social media comments because of an expressed viewpoint as long as our social media guidelines are being followed.”

When asked about specific moderation guidelines for comments, she directed inquiries to the official university policy. 

University social media accounts are governed by policy 3341-10-7, which outlines expectations for engagement on all university-affiliated platforms. 

According to the University-Administered Social Media Engagement Policy, all posts and comments must adhere to standards set by the Office of Marketing and Communications. The policy establishes guidelines for public engagement on university-run accounts. 

Additional details are outlined on the University-Administered Social Media Engagement Policy page.