While we all know Yik Yak is mostly used to complain about school and to praise procrastination. It appears that since coming back from Thanksgiving break, it has also been used as a way to ask for advice.

The holidays have always served as a time for us to reevaluate what is important to us and what things we might want to change in the coming year. It is only fitting that Yik Yak has become a place to seek wisdom on some of these things as well.

And what else would the students of UW-Eau Claire be asking about other than relationships? I stumbled upon an interesting Yak on Monday night that stated the following:

“Found out the guy I have been seeing has a girlfriend. Breaking it off with him. Do I tell the girlfriend or just leave it?”

While the Yak itself didn’t receive that many up-votes, students still had a lot to say on the matter and left varying opinions.

Almost everyone agreed the Yakker was right in her decision to leave the cheating guy she was seeing, but everyone had a different answer when it came to what she should do afterward.

Many of the replies consisted of a simple “tell” or “don’t tell,” but others offered up explanations as to why.

“Not your place to tell,” one person said. “Trust me I’ve told people before and they just get mad at you and take the person back.”

Another person countered with, “But can you really leave it on your conscience that you let her continue to love and trust him instead of saving her some of the pain that would only grow with time?”

Both sides have valid points. On one hand, the Yakker did what she had to do in order to end her own relationship, and has no place in this other one. No one had to tell her the relationship she was in was toxic, and with time, this other girl will probably realize the same thing.

That being said, there is some value to the other argument.

We’re women, aren’t we? There’s an entire code about how we interact with each other, and when one of us is wronged, it is our supposed duty to help a sister out in any way that we can. Not informing this girl of her cheating boyfriend would be an obvious violation of that code, wouldn’t it?

In the end, I don’t think it would be. I don’t know how this particular Yakker will choose to handle this terrible situation, but I hope she walks away and keeps her pain to herself. Right now I’m sure the reason she would tell this girl what happened is mostly one that stems from anger, and nothing good can come of that.

The majority of the people responding to the Yak agreed with me, although only by a small margin. Many thought she should tell the girl anyway, if only to get back at the cheating guy.

Problems like this one are hard because often there is no right answer. Regardless of what happens, I’m sure the original Yakker is really hurt and eventually the girl dating a cheater will be, too.

This Yakker doesn’t owe anyone anything. She ended it at the right time, and now all that she can do is focus on herself and move on.

So if you’re out there reading this, anonymous Yakker, hopefully some of the advice on Yik Yak was useful to you, and if not then maybe the advice that I have offered is. And hopefully soon you can rejoin the rest of us in Yakking about finals and the weather.