Memes capture the attention of undergraduates

Frequently dismissed as infantile art, memes are a widely popular way for young people to share, discuss, and comment on cultural topics relevant to them. Students at Stevens, too, spread memes not only to laugh at nonsensical jokes but also, recently, to jab at and laugh about their university — it reveals a new medium in which students both appreciate and critique Stevens.

A “meme” tends to repurpose existing media, often culturally-relevant media — a picture of a crying Kim Kardashian, say — and either accompanies or overlays it with a humorous caption. The images used in memes often become standardized. Many people might use the same picture of a crying Kim Kardashian to represent almost anything. Did your mom say something irritating? Did your professor unfairly give you a nasty grade on an assignment? Are you just sad? If yes, perhaps post the picture of crying Kim K on your Instagram with the caption, “my professor screwed me over.”

In an article in The New York Times Magazine, writer Willy Staley compared memes to bumper stickers, “in that any one concept can be endlessly remixed to convey just about any sort of sentiment.” Like political cartoons, memes are punchy and easily shareable, except that producing memes requires less time and artistry than creating classic political cartoons. If you have access to a digital device, you, too, can create a meme.

Memes as a mode of digital expression have existed at Stevens for a few years now. The Stevens reddit page has long been a mecca for Stevens-related discourse and memes. Overheard Stevens, which goes by @overheardstevens on Instagram, features eavesdropped conversations that are submitted anonymously by students. Some of the eavesdroppings are related directly to Stevens, but most are simple and somewhat funny things that people hear around campus.

Last year, a small Facebook page called “high tech memes for SIT teens” was formed. Although the stream of posts slowed down after a few weeks and is now entirely inactive, the page had several memes about Stevens. One meme asked readers to tag themselves as a personified version of notable Stevens buildings. Are you artsy, well-connected, and often called by your first, middle, and last name? You’re the Morton-Peirce-Kiddie Complex. Do you like to be the center of attention, and are you dramatic? You’re the Edwin A. Stevens Building. Each building is not just a building; it’s also a social identity that you can adopt for yourself.

But what began as an innocuous way to joke about trivial aspects of Stevens has evolved into a fertile form of social activism and cultural commentary. Midway through the Fall 2018 semester, an Instagram account @stevens__memes surfaced, with posts that focus on specific topics and events in the Stevens community. “Waiting for Helen to make eye contact to start my omelette,” reads one of the first posts, accompanied by an image of a bug-eyed Miley Cyrus. (Helen is a notable worker in Pierce Dining Hall, who often makes omelettes in the mornings.) “I said pledge your fuCKING HONOR,” reads another meme, using a photoshopped picture of pop artist Lady Gaga holding a gun, cheekily mocking the seriousness of the Honor System.

Formed as a way to “bring up some events, issues, and playful stereotypes everyone at Stevens may come across at some point,” the @stevens__memes page has accumulated over 1,300 followers and made 36 posts, according to the page creator, who agreed to speak on the promise of anonymity.

“Joking about Stevens is honestly how the students cope with the stress, and the page aims to let the students laugh about it,” said the page creator.

The jokes, sometimes targeting specific administrative offices or academic practices, often integrate videos into the memes as a way to convey messages. These videos typically have a comedic aspect to them. For example, halfway through 2017, a video of man, whom internet users called “the worst security guard ever,” circulated the internet. This security guard frisked people by waving his hands over them — not patting them down, not checking for metal with a detector, not sniffing them out for drugs — but merely hovering his hands over the people’s bodies to provide the illusion of security. Each security screening, in this video, lasted less than three seconds and were almost certainly useless. “This security guard just doesn’t care,” one internet user wrote in the YouTube comment section of the original video. “Is he using the force,” another person asked, referencing the metaphysical superpower in the mega-franchise Star Wars.

As with most memes, this particular video was repurposed by the @stevens__memes page, in this case, to comment on the inadequacy of Stevens’ Counseling and Psychological Services, known to students as CAPS. On December 26, 2018, @stevens__memes posted a meme with the caption: “Me: I gotta go to CAPS I need some help. CAPS: we’ll check you out.” Underneath the caption was the video of the security guard who was performing poorly at his job.

The facetious suggestion: Just as the security officer was useless, so, too, is CAPS. (This post was viewed over 1,800 times and has been “liked” by 335 accounts.)

Other posts of university criticism and commentary exist on the page as well. A few days after a polar vortex devastated major regions of the country, which also caused some of Stevens’ water pipes to freeze and burst due to cold temperatures creeping in buildings through ajar windows, Stevens administrators sent several emails to the Stevens community and instructed that everyone must close all windows while the weather remains freezing, lest more water pipes break. The @stevens__memes response to this: a video of a man — who, in this meme, represents Stevens administrators — screaming “y’all make me sick” with the caption, “window: *is open*.”

Recently, other Stevens memes have proliferated social media.

The Stevens reddit page continues to see posts that comment on decisions of Stevens. Three days ago, user “gumonashoe” posted a meme that featured Ronald Reagan delivering his June 12, 1987, speech that called for the collapse of the Berlin wall, which separated West and East Germany. In this meme, the top image shows a shouting Reagan with the caption, “Mr. Farvardin, Tear Down This Wall!” The bottom image shows the Gatehouse, an iconic archway on the Stevens property, being torn down.

@favardin_in_da_garden.mpeg was created late in January, replete with critical posts of Stevens. In one meme, the account implicitly criticizes Stevens for declaring itself a “Stigma Free Campus” while not servicing the diverse needs of marginalized identities on campus. In another, the account mockingly presents a tough decision: either “fix leaking campus buildings” or “give six figure salaries to administration.”

A variety of other meme pages have emerged rapidly as well. As more meme pages arise, and as current pages grow and change, the way in which students use memes as a mode of talking about their university will only progress.