If you live on the Hilltop, you might be familiar with the Snapchat account called “hilltopmadness.” The student-run account posts photos, sometimes provocative ones, to its story of campus happenings. The Scout interviewed the anonymous student behind the posts (by sending and receiving Snapchat pictures, of course) to over a span of several days.
Q: When did you create “hilltopmadness”?
Q: Why did your friends specifically ask you to create the account?
Q: Did you create your “hilltopmadness” before “bradley.snaps,” the other Snapchat account that posts photos from students, and do you think of “bradley.snaps” as competition?
Q: Speaking of censoring, what are your boundaries with posts?
Q: How many post requests do you receive from students each day?
Q: How often does it happen that someone asks you to remove a post?
Q: Out of those 50 or 100 requests, how many do you approve?
Q: What is the most interesting part of running the account?
Q: Is that why you like to stay anonymous?
Q: Is there any reason for making an anonymous Snapchat account rather than making an account on Twitter or Facebook?
Q: You said you wondered how “bradley.snaps” obtains its posts because some don’t seem like they are from Bradley students. Do you have a method of verifying this information for your posts?
![A: I don't have a surefire method. People will call out someone who doesn't go here and tell me about them, and then I'll check them out. Others I will watch out for and see if they post anything to indicate they go to Bradley or are in the Peoria area. Sometimes, I flat out ask the person if they go to Bradley. "Hilltopmadness" is supposed to be a snapstory for students who happen to go to Bradley. I would say it's for Bradley students, but I try to keep it clear that [the account is] in no way associated with Bradley. It was unfair of me to call out "bradley.snaps," as there is no way for me to know, true. But I also know how easy it is to throw a geofilter on a photo and make it seem like it's from Bradley.](http://www.bradleyscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_4035.jpg)
Q: Do you think Bradley students need “hilltopmadness” or a similar Snapchat account?
Q: During this interview, you said you were “locked out” of your main account, “hilltopmadness,” and we had to switch the interview to a different account you run, “hilltopmadness2.” Why did this happen?
Q: Do you know what kinds of policies, if any, Snapchat has about post content or posting in general?
Q: What is it like to hear about your account in conversations around campus?
Q: Do you ever respond to those questions and give hints about your identity?
Q: How many students know your identity?
Q: Do you plan on putting this job on your résumé?
Q: Is there anything else you would like readers to know?
