By Izzie Alley

It is a great phenomenon that has been sweeping high school campuses everywhere: an anonymous Facebook page that displays submitted compliments about students publicly.  This concept sounds like a great morale booster come midterms for BHS students, but was it only compliments being exposed? Where is the line drawn between flattering and inappropriate?
Our generation seems to have a problem with face-to-face interaction, even to the point where now we must use an anonymous online service to deliver our compliments.

On January 6, the usual procrastination was taking place on Facebook when the statuses started appearing. There were genuine compliments, and of course, there were people intentionally embarrassing friends, which provided many laughs. People have been able to sort of figure out who submitted each compliment, but all are wondering who runs the actual Briarcliff Compliments page. The student body knows very little, but it may be important to take note that the majority of the compliments were about juniors and seniors. Is the mastermind an upperclassman, or were older students just the ones with enough courage to submit compliments? A few weeks before the page blew up with submissions, “Briarcliff Compliments” went about friending almost all BHS students including some alumni. The alumni factor also leads to believe that it is most likely an upperclassman. Some students are suspicious about the account, saying, “It could be the high school administration trying to take a look at students’ Facebook profiles.” This could be a possibility, as there are always rumors floating around about the school trying to hack themselves into our personal profiles. Clearly there is not nearly enough evidence to support any theories about the face behind Briarcliff Compliments, but it’s likely that the mysterious person is smiling as he or she reads this article.

It really is a good idea in theory. All high school students could use a self-esteem boost from time to time. But then again, it’s high school students, so will they take this tool seriously? “Cutest Couple” and “Prom 2013” can make the subjects uncomfortable and can turn their 15 minutes of fame into 15 minutes of shame. It’s true – everyone is curious who would win a Briarcliff Hunger Games or how they’re all “basics” compared to Alex Martocci. They get a laugh and move on. So for good or bad, Briarcliff Compliments has drifted away. Maybe it will resurrect itself, maybe not.

Students probably will never know who Briarcliff Compliments is, unless this is exactly like “Gossip Girl,” and the truth is revealed in the end…XOXO Briarcliff Compliments.