The role of memes in student life

Memes have become an integral part of life for Gen Z and the latter half of Millennials. They are generally seen as comedic, yet they inform us of current events faster than the news. Donald Trump, online education, the toilet paper crisis, quarantining, and COVID-19 divorce rates are just a few topics that memes have brought global awareness to. One might assume that the current events of a specific country would not become internationally relevant; however, memes have allowed people from everywhere to critique each other’s politics and culture. I explore news and current events through a variety of perspectives because of them. They are today’s propaganda, comedy, and emotional support all in one. Their addition to student life has connected us more than ever, and for that I am grateful.

During my first year at the University of Toronto we had the first “meme bracket war.” The ending of orientation and the beginning of my first set of midterms was a dark time. That month of memes and Vines was the light that I, like many others, needed. Students were as dedicated to the meme war as they were to their favorite sports teams. The closeness was wholesome and much needed. Memes in student life have not only served comedic purposes, but also acted as a way of dealing with collective crises. They have helped us deal with the horrifying prevalence of “Toronto’s poop tosser,” and the devastating marking scheme changes brought about by COVID-19. On a lighter and much happier note, the popularity of the brown food truck in memes led to the creation of a GoFundMe page to allow the “Brown Food Truck Lady” to finally visit her family.

Expanding on the “meme bracket war,” I want to emphasize the importance of Vines and TikToks in its creation. Without them, I and many others would not have felt the unnecessary but very real pride of belonging to our specific colleges and departments. The Vines led to students becoming dedicated enough to buy likes and infiltrate a competition built upon comedic rivalry. Our beloved Victoria College was up against Engineering when this happened. The entire ordeal was later labelled “Brazilgate” because all the fake accounts originated from Brazil. Students seemingly never found the culprit, but I feel obligated to say it was someone from Engineering as I am, after all, a Victorian myself. At the end of the day, students loved the whole “war” enough to create one for the libraries of the university, and a second edition for the following school year.

The most recent hilarious yet adorable development in memes included anime and our university’s rivals. It was a great way for Ontario university students to both share their artistic talents and depict their supposed hatred for each other. The content was wholesome and brought together many university communities during the developing onslaught of COVID-19. Most of the visuals depicted anime characters representing a “Chad” and “Tsundere” as a way for university communities to claim dominance over each other. Unsurprisingly, every university had a different opinion and eventually, these memes led to the creation of fanfiction. All of this happened around Pride month, and seemed to be a great show of mutual support for it within the student community. COVID-19 put a stop to most Pride events, so we inevitably used memes to help celebrate and show support.

Student-developed memes address not only comedic topics but, also important issues regarding university administration. Many depict opinions about the university’s quality of mental health support, its often-late closures on dangerous snow days, and its investments in fossil fuels. Around the time graduation was cancelled, students came together and shared support for each other through memes. The power of their collective social media presence helped trigger the university’s decision to hold a virtual ceremony instead of cancelling it entirely. The prevalence of these themes allows us to understand the diverse effects that memes can have within student cultures.

Memes circulate on social media predominantly through Facebook; “uoft memes for true blue teens (case sensitive)” is undoubtedly the Facebook page to follow for the latest content. Many university departments and colleges have their own pages as well. Many of these pages hold serious application processes for people who want to be administrators, and a lot of the admin receive recognition from much of the undergraduate population for their efforts in maintaining active online communities. These pages do not initially seem like they require much time and effort for maintenance; however, admin ensures that each meme posted follows community guidelines and that people maintain civility in the comment sections.

The recent development of COVID-19 led to the creation of a Facebook page titled “Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens,” which has amazingly connected students at universities all throughout North America. Memes about school openings, the way universities have been handling this pandemic, and the transition to online education have been frequent themes. Its activity only seems to be rising as we draw closer to a mostly online year of university education, and I am sure that it will become a great portrayal of the student experience throughout this pandemic.

Memes may seem like just a few words put together to ignite some laughter, but they are much more. They help us bring light to topics we are too ashamed to discuss because of cultural and social norms; they help us form communities within society through the sharing of perspectives on current affairs; and most of all, they are what will help us get through this pandemic and come out stronger as a community. I look forward to us coming back to a closer and more understanding institution and student body.