HUNTINGTON, Ind. (FDN) Sometimes the things that irritate HU students the most, have a way to bring them together.
Memes are taking the internet and social media by storm, and one student, who desires to remain anonymous, found a chance to bring this craze to HU by creating the popular Instagram page known as “HU Memes.”
“I think it blew up because people need something to laugh about,” said the anonymous student. “You know college is a frustrating time, and when you see an entire meme page about your school that becomes your entire life. We are in this bubble together, and when we can find something to laugh about that we all relate too, that is probably why it blew up.”
The HU Memes page began in March of 2019 and has surpassed 600 followers. The page creator originally made the posts by themselves but has since began accepting submissions to attempt to reach a broader group of people.
Freshman Cory Dunivan is one of the new followers this semester.
“I like how it brings all the different majors together on campus, because it relates to all the different students on campus,” Dunivan said.
The posts often make fun of some element of HU. A prime example of this was the new statue of a tree near the campus-side entrance to the MCA. This became a hot topic for memes, with the page posting four. Some of these memes referenced more controversial topics like university spending while others were more lighthearted, focusing around Dr. Seuss’s Lorax.
“A lot of criticism I actually get is behind the scenes in the DMs with people who submit memes that I don’t post for various reasons,” said HU meme’s creator
Though the page is intended to be lighthearted and fun, occasionally a post will go to far. The page creator referenced one post they regretted making and their decision to remove it from the page.
It does not come as a surprise that most of the memes target the school in a negative light, however when asked about the page’s effect on the school’s image, Huntington University Director of Communications Lynette Fager brushed it off.
“As much as there are pieces of the account that cause me to sigh a little bit, and wish that we could have a little more thought and understanding what we are talking about, at the same time I don’t know that there is necessarily a harm to it,” Fager weighed in.
With students typically on campus for four years, the creator of the page will inevitably leave HU. They looked through their potential successors and aimed to find somebody who they believe can keep the spirit of the page alive — and they believe they found their person.
“I definitely think and hope that it grows in followers to the current students and becomes like a safe place for people who go to Huntington at the moment to kind of find humor in the stresses of daily college life,” said the creator.
You can find the page on Instagram @huntingtonumemes.