By Celena Glaghassi, Staff Writer
As a Gettysburg College student, I have two major fears: failing a class and dropping my silverware in Servo.
Earlier today, during dinner, someone dropped their fork. As most college students do, my friends and I giggled, said “transfer” amongst ourselves, and moved on with our meal. That got me thinking—why did we even stop to do that in the first place? Why was our first reaction to a mistake, public humiliation? Even though we didn’t shout at the person to transfer in front of everyone, in our own way, we still went out of our way to draw attention to a mistake that someone made.
In this digital age, one action, one word, one post— they can all make-or-break a person’s reputation. Social media platforms like X, TikTok, and Instagram have turned into virtual courtrooms, appointing the public as judges, juries and executioners. This phenomenon, known as “cancel culture”, began as a way of holding people accountable, although it has quickly spiraled into something much more dangerous.
Cancel culture started out as a means of social justice. When influencers, celebrities or politicians acted in a way that was viewed as “problematic”, people used their voices to demand change and strip them of their platforms.
Movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter showed how powerful the internet could be when people put their voices together to advocate for social change. This method of achieving social retribution, however, has evolved into an environment of fear. Cancel culture has forced people to censor their thoughts and opinions in order to avoid backlash. People like Colleen Ballinger (Miranda Sings) showed how quickly a person’s life can unravel when the internet turns against them.
This type of backlash goes far beyond just social platforms. The constant, ever-present fear of saying or doing the wrong thing has become integrated into our society. On a college campus, this fear is particularly visible. College is supposed to be a place where ideas clash, where students are challenged to look at different points of view— a place where uncomfortable discussions are part of everyday life.
Cancel culture, at its core, discourages risk-taking— the very basis of education. In our classrooms, this means students being afraid to ask the “wrong” questions or exploring ideas that might challenge the norm. As a result, we lose something fundamental to the learning experience: the ability to question, debate and learn from opposing perspectives. Education needs this type of discomfort. Without it, we have no hope of growing or changing as people. It’s through respectful disagreement and dialogue that empathy, understanding and change take root. When fear replaces openness, our education becomes a performance instead of progress.
Next time, instead of laughing at the dropped fork, we should ask ourselves why we’re so quick to point it out.
November 10, 2025
Extraordinarily composed and succinct addressing origins, and providing real life examples. Should be published elsewhere: Try Gettysburg Times to demonstrate that there are kind and thoughtful students, not always perception of Adams County residents. It might also prompt readers and opinion letter writers to reevaluate the harsh letters that commonly appear locally and throughout all forms of media.
Very pleased to read this and hope it has lasting impact on. campus thought and behaviors.