Like many students, three nights ago I logged onto Facebook to get a blast from the past on my newsfeed: Whitman Compliments. For those who lived under a rock last year, Whitman Compliments was a social media forum that came to Whitman via senior Eyal Hanfling. For a week or so, Facebook was clogged with anonymous compliments, sent via anonymous online submission to Hanfling, who was also anonymous at the time. At the end of the week, Hanfling revealed himself through a blog on the Black & White website and explained his motives.

Back from the grave with a different account and under new management, the details of Whitman Compliments have changed slightly. Instead of being a public page, the creators made a profile page that requires a Facebook friendship in order to see the compliments. Compliments can be sent either via Facebook message or through an anonymous Ask.fm page, if submitters want to keep their identities private.

Hanfling, now a freshman at University of Chicago, had mixed feelings about the replica of last year’s project.

“I’m not 100% sure about my opinion of the new Whitman Compliments page. This fall, I sat at my computer and watched Whitman’s “Roar” video over and over again, awestruck by how professional and artistic the video was. I felt incredibly proud to be a Viking alum during that week in October, and was reminded of the atmosphere of unity that makes Whitman so special,” Hanfling wrote via Facebook message.

“Ventures like the “Roar” video and Whitman’s yearly participation in Leukemia and Lymphoma month are more likely to bring students together than a Facebook profile highlighting how students are so ‘great,’ ‘nice,’ and ‘flawless,’” Hanfling said.

The idea behind Whitman Compliments last year was to teach a lesson that we shouldn’t hide behind a screen to be able to offer a kind word or pat on the back, Hanfling said. It’s now unclear whether or not last year’s purpose was achieved.

“I reached out to the manager of the new page but was told that they wanted to stay anonymous. While I applaud the creator for their attempt to boost school morale, I am somewhat surprised by their decision to copy last year’s project without any changing its name or mission,” Hanfling said.

Whitman Compliments account owners revealed that two people run the site now: one senior girl and one senior boy.

“Whitman needs compliments, and it just seemed like the right time to bring it back. With academic and social pressures bearing down on everyone, WC acts as a positive distraction,” the anonymous senior girl wrote.

With messages pouring in, running the site requires a large amount of time. Both seniors said they weren’t sure how long they will continue running the site.

“My hope is that we keep it going until it starts to take a toll on our social lives,” one of them wrote. “Right now, for example, we have 127 unanswered compliments.”

The account runners plan on revealing themselves eventually.

“Anonymity isn’t possible at a school as big as Whitman. Of course my closest friends know who I am, and people have their ways of finding out,” the senior girl wrote. “I don’t care if people find out because the site has nothing to do with the people running it. All we do is post the compliments. It’s the students who write them.”