Website gives students place to share secrets

A mysterious old typewriter sat atop a table on Kerckhoff patio Friday, as curious passersby walked by it to take a closer look.

Next to the typewriter was a black box with a slit and note that explained why the typewriter was there to begin with.

The grey electric typewriter belongs to Bruin Confidential – a website that aims to connect students by allowing them to anonymously share stories, secrets or experiences with peers.

Students can write out their stories on the typewriter, which has already been placed in different locations around campus such as Janss Steps and Kerckhoff Patio, or by submitting them on the Bruin Confidential website, said Eric Kang, a second-year psychobiology student and co-director of the site.

Students can find out about the typewriter’s location through the project’s Facebook page, which has about 200 likes so far, Kang said. The typewriter is put out sporadically by the Bruin Confidential team.

The website, which Undergraduate Students Association Council General Representative Michael Starr’s office launched in mid-January, is a product of efforts to connect Bruins with one another, Starr said. There have been more than 100 typewriter and online submissions so far, he added.

The idea for the website was inspired by the popular website PostSecret, where people from all over the world submit their secrets written on postcards, Starr said.

Bruin Confidential hosts different types of submissions, which range from serious to inspiring, including relationship concerns, depression issues and students’ dreams for the future. One student expressed concerns related to family – “all the people in my family are doctors, but I want to be different.”

Caroline Nguyen, a fourth-year anthropology student, came across the typewriter last week at a table on Kerckhoff Patio.

“It’s an awesome idea. I had no idea what it was, but if people write real secrets, I think this is a really cool and interesting way to do it,” she said.

Starr said the site is intended to create a place where people can connect on a more personal level than they are usually comfortable with.

“Participants are intended to be members of the UCLA community and that helps bring these stories closer to home,” he said.

Kang said the typewriter, a symbol of the site, is intended to be a fun way for students to anonymously share thoughts with others as they type them, drop them into a locked box and then see them put up on the site daily.

“It’s just you and (the typewriter), no copy or paste function, just you and your words alone and that’s what we’re aiming for,” he said.

Although the typewriter remains Bruin Confidential’s primary medium, the online submissions function was recently made available, Kang said.

This function was added because students maintain busy schedules and it allows for more reflective thoughts from those who might prefer to share their secret from the comfort of their own home, Kang said.

The site includes the option for students to include their graduation year and major, which Kang said was meant to give readers perspective on where submissions come from so others can relate to them more easily.

Bruin Confidential also has campus resource links available to students for campus programs such as UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and the UCLA Sexual Harassment Prevention Office.

Kang said creators incorporated campus resources so the site would be a place to seek help or find information as well as a forum to get things off their chest.

Starr said the Bruin Confidential site stands out compared to other sites because the submissions are more like stories than memes.

Communications professor Steven Peterson, said the reversion to old technologies is a novel concept because it recreates a true sense of anonymity through the typewriter. He added that these types of anonymous sites are possibly popular because people feel they can express themselves without judgment or scrutiny by colleagues or friends, unlike other social media sites like Facebook.

Bruin Confidential seems to be gradually gaining momentum among students, though many expressed mixed reactions about the project.

Neda Ashtari, a first-year psychobiology student, said she thinks the site will not render results because it lacks real social interaction and she does not plan to use the site.

“Venting on a website surrounded by negativity is not going to help anyone. You need to have interaction with others to solve problems,” she said.

Anthony Padilla, a second-year biochemistry student, said the typewriter and website could be a really good resource for students who just want to be heard.

The typewriter was set up at the Academic Affairs Commission’s Stress-Less Fair last month and has been out a few times since. Project organizers plan to have the typewriter out more frequently in the coming months by creating a system where student groups can “host the typewriter” at their events.

The typewriter’s next appearance will be on March 12 in Bruin Plaza for the Academic Affairs Commission’s Finals Stress Free Day.