When I throw the name “Britain Bennett” into the halls of WS, it is returned with scoffs and “Oh please no’s.”
I would imagine that the WS administration and the student ambassadors of the “Throw Shine” program had the intention of encouraging kindness and also encouraging students to stand up against bullying when they planned the assembly. However, it was both the speaker, Bennett, and the reaction of Spartan students that made the assembly disconcerting to some students.
As soon as Bennett started plugging her personal social media, she lost some credibility in my eyes. It would make sense for her to be marketing “TBH” or “3 Musketeer’s Throw Shine”, the companies she was representing, but advertising herself for more followers and popularity came across to me as quite unprofessional.
Bennett’s bullying testimonial at the assembly turned out to be inspiring to some students which is great for the goal of speaking out against the relevant issue, but to many her talk seemed like an act. When the assembly concluded, of course we all went and checked out her social media platforms, and speaking for myself – I was surprised.
I was optimistic enough to expect something like inspirational quotes or posts of her at the schools where she has spoken, but the reality was mostly photos of her. Which, by the way, is completely valid, they were her personal accounts, after all.
I faced doubts about her professionalism because, like I already said, advertising personal social media seemed inappropriate for the audience, and also because she gave permission for a WS student to kiss her on the cheek for a photo.