During his recent address to the student body, Mark Leinweaver, Major League Baseball agent and motivational speaker, held up his cell phone and called it “an extremely dangerous weapon.”
He was referring to the power of social media and the lasting damage an offensive post can have on someone’s reputation. Leinweaver’s talk was called “Why Character Matters,” a message Leinweaver brings to high schools across the country.
With student volunteers taking turns reading how the story unfolded, Leinweaver used the example of a high school female freshman who posted a racial slur from Snapchat taken from a rap song lyric. A male African-American friend of hers took a screenshot of her post.
Years later, when she was a senior she and set to go to the University of Tennessee on a cheerleading scholarship, the post came back to profoundly alter her life.
When the female came out in favor of the Black Lives Matter movement following the murder of George Floyd, her male friend posted the racial slur online. The uproar was immediate as thousands of people called for her acceptance to the University of Tennessee to be revoked.
The university did just that and the young woman, who is now 20, lives at home with her mother.
“The outside world will judge you when you post a screenshot of the ‘n’ word,” Leinweaver said. “You’re choosing to use the ‘n’ word. You’re going to be judged by that. You’re going to be called a racist.”
Leinweaver said, while the students may not be famous ballplayers, they are still their own agents.
“The only client you have is you,” he said.
Leinweaver’s overall message was its important to have a strong sense of character, to be a leader and to stand up for what’s right. Besides warning about the misuse of social media, Leinweaver also spoke out against bullying and the need for students to actively put a stop to it.
“If you see something, say something,” he said. “Being brave isn’t easy, but it’s your responsibility to share information with an adult. Bullying is an unacceptable behavior and has become a real and tragic epidemic. You have to come together as one team to stop bullying.”
Dane Lupien a senior from Northfield said he liked Leinweaver’s message, especially against bullying.
“The speaker was persuasive,” he said. “You need people to stand up and not allow someone to get away with being a bully.”
Brendon Clough, a sophomore from Greenfield, volunteered to be one of the students to read the story about the high school girl who posted the racial slur.
“There were a lot of things people needed to hear,” he said of Leinweaver’s talk.
Hannah Gordon, a sophomore from Erving, said the anti-bullying message is what resonated most with her.
“So many people who get bullied really get hurt,” she said. “You want people to treat you the way you treat them.”