(Reza A. Marvashti/For The Washington Post) 
 
 A feminist group at the University of Mary Washington is accusing school officials of failing to act on threats against its members — one of whom was killed last month — on the popular and controversial messaging app Yik Yak, an attorney for the group said. Feminists United plans to announce at a news conference Thursday that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging that members were threatened with sexual assault and death and were cyber-stalked after speaking out in campus debates about Greek life and against a lewd chant by the rugby team this year, said attorney Lisa Banks. Steven Vander Briel, a former UMW rugby club member and roommate of Mann's, has been charged with first-degree murder. Grace Rebecca Mann (Courtesy of Grace Rebecca Mann's family) 
 
 “I felt deeply unsafe at many points,” said Paige McKinsey, the outgoing president of the university’s Feminists United group. The app, which allows people to post social media messages without revealing their names, filters out certain words, such as "rape," but users have found ways to get around that by using similar sounding words. “It’s always disappointing to see rare instances occur that simply don’t represent what Yik Yak is all about, and guarding against misuse is something we take very seriously,” the company said in a statement. “We’ve taken significant measures so far by adding filters, pop-up warnings, reporting, and moderation within the app, and we will constantly work to enhance these measures.” 
 
 At Mary Washington, McKinsey said, problems began in November as students were talking about whether to allow fraternities and sororities on the 5,000-student campus in Fredericksburg. Mann was a vocal leader in the group, and she was particularly outspoken about an incident in which the school's rugby team engaged in chants calling for violence against women -- including rape and necrophilia. “There were waves,” McKinsey said of the abuse. The complaint alleges that the group's members feared for their safety after more than 700 sexist, threatening Yaks were posted about Feminists United or the group's individual members. "While the University has no recourse for such cyber bullying, Yik Yak and other social media sites do," the University's Title IX coordinator Leah Cox told the students in an email, according to the complaint. "To the university's knowledge, no known reports of direct threats of violence and/or sexual assault have gone unheeded," the university said in a statement. The university denied the group's request to shut down access to Yik Yak on campus, citing First Amendment concerns. Though the complaint is not directed at Yik Yak, Katz, the group's attorney, said, "Yik Yak does have some responsibility here."
– A group of female students at Virginia's University of Mary Washington is lodging a Title IX complaint against the school over the anonymous messaging app Yik Yak, reports CNN. The members of the campus group Feminists United say they've received so many abusive threats online that they feel unsafe on their own campus, and they accuse the school of doing too little to protect them. Last month, one of their members was killed, allegedly by a male roommate, though authorities have made no links between the Yik Yak threats and the death of Grace Rebecca Mann. Yik Yak is popular on college campuses because it allows users within a relatively small area to post and receive anonymous messages on their phones. Members of the feminists' group say they've endured cyber-stalking and repeated threats of rape and murder, in particular after two incidents: They spoke out against allowing frats on campus because of concerns over sexual abuse, and they got the rugby team suspended over an abusive chant. (Mann's accused killer is a former rugby player.) Afterward, the Yik Yak threats came pouring in. “It created an increasing level of fear and anxiety,” says attorney Lisa Banks. “They had no way to know if people who were posting messages were sitting next to them in class or walking next to them on campus.” The school says it has investigated all threats of violence, and Yik Yak says it is working to curb hate speech on its service, reports the Washington Post