During the shelter-in-place event on Tuesday that resulted from alerts of an armed individual on campus, a number of students turned to Sidechat, an anonymous social media platform popular among WashU students, as a source of information. In the aftermath, an anonymous Sidechat user posted an AI-generated image of a Black man being arrested by law enforcement in front of Brookings Hall.
The Association of Black Students (ABS) released an official statement on Wednesday, Feb. 25 after meeting with Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Anna “Dr. G” Gonzalez, condemning the false threat, the normalization of violence on school campuses, the need for safety to be proactive, and the racist AI-generated image.
The AI-generated image sparked upset among many members of the WashU community. The ABS statement was co-signed by numerous other student-led organizations on campus, including the WashU Native American Student Alliance, the WashU Association of Latin American Students, and several Student Union executives, including SU President Ashton Lee.
“The spread of racially charged and stereotypical content compounds harm and reinforces harmful narratives that position Black communities as synonymous with violence,” a portion of the ABS statement read.
AnnLauren Djoko, president of ABS, said that the image was offensive and harmful to the Black community on campus.
“I feel like weaponizing this crisis to perpetuate anti-blackness is honestly crazy,” Djoko said. “I think it represents a deeper problem that even during moments of crisis on campus, Black students are still being subjected to dehumanization.”
Djoko said she and other members of ABS were concerned about people who immediately assumed the image was authentic and the safety issues it could have posed to students.
“Another thing [the ABS Executive Board] talked about was [that] people could have seen this and been like, ‘Oh, they caught the person.’ … That’s just really dangerous, not only for Black students, but also for everyone else who’s sheltering,” Djoko said.
Djoko spoke on the layered meaning of the post within the context of the whole city, not just WashU.
“Knowing St. Louis is mainly Black, I feel like it was very targeted and purposeful,” Djoko said.
There have been numerous studies on why Black individuals are stereotyped as suspicious at higher rates than white individuals, as pertaining to the AI-generated images. This is due to AI perpetuating racial stereotypes in other avenues as well, such as dialect, image-cropping algorithms, and failing to demonstrate diversity.
Djoko’s point on feeling that the image was targeted reflects a nation-wide sentiment, according to Pew Research Center data stating that (as of 2019 data) 65% of Black adults in the U.S. felt someone had acted suspicious of them based on their race.
The official and full ABS statement can be found on their Instagram page (@abswashu).
Djoko said truth is important during crises.
“It’s really a targeted exploitation of a moment where everyone on campus is navigating a very fearful situation,” Djoko said.
For on campus emergencies, the WashU administration directs students towards resources such as the WashU SAFE app and official University pages for updates on current threats and events.
