UCC Students Union Welfare Officer responds to anonymous accusations she's been selling cocaine on campus

The UCC Students Union Welfare Officer has responded to anonymous online accusations that she's been selling cocaine from her office.

Writing on TheBuzz.ie, Katie Quinlan spoke about the growing number of rumours on Yik Yak - an App that lets people post comments anonymously - that she is the UCC campus's "very own Pablo Escobar."

Let's be clear from the start; she is not running a silent cartel from behind her Koka noodle boxes and hidden stash of Capri-Suns, and has written a strong piece about the dangers of anonymous, completely unsubstantiated rumours on the web.

"This is a very common thread on the infamous Yik Yak app at the minute," Katie writes. "According to a small minority on this app, I’m UCC’s very own Pablo Escobar selling cocaine from the sanctity of the Welfare Office. This is problematic for a number of reasons, the main one being that it is entirely untrue."

Katie recognises the lucrative nature of the illicit drugs trade, having watched Narcos in its entirety, but she's left wondering where people think she's stashing all that lovely money.

"I mean, I’ve watched Narcos, it’s a lucrative business this cocaine thing," she continues. "If people are going to say they bought drugs from me I would very much like to know where my cash dollar bills are. From what I have seen in popular culture, cocaine dealers enjoy quite a lavish lifestyle while I live on Koka noodles and Capri-Suns.

"I am painfully unaware of how one enters the drug business. I mean, do you just ring up some Mexican cartel and tell them you want in?

"Is there some form of CV you should submit? Do they expect some past experience? Also, I would assume you need to be someway mathematically minded and if I’m being entirely honest I have no idea what the difference is between an ounce and a gram."

On a serious note, Katie wrote about the completely unfounded nature of the accusations that are being spread on Yik Yak, and other anonymous apps.

"It really is disheartening to watch people use a social media app to spread lies and slander about you. These people aren’t making juvenile insults, they’re accusing me of a very serious crime and these same claims are completely unfounded."

Read more on this story from Katie Quinlan here

UCC SU President Aidan Coffey told JOE: "As with everything there's good and bad - Yik Yak can be great for asking questions you’d normally be too embarrassed to ask, getting advice and having a bit of craic.

"However, there is serious potential for some really severe bullying on the App and we have seen some instances of this in UCC. This can reach a level of sustained bullying, targeted at a particular person or group, and we all know of incidents in the past where online abuse has led to self-harm or even suicide.

"While Yik Yak is generally a great app, people need to be conscious of what they’re saying and how it will impact people in ways they might not even imagine. I don’t think banning the app is the way forward - people just need to cop on a bit and not act the bollox."