By now, the majority of us who have a Facebook account should have already seen or heard about it. For the past few weeks, it’s been running rampant on our news feeds as our friends liked or commented on the photos. Though it has simmered down as of late, there’s no doubting the influence of “UCI Memebase” on the university’s online community.
Amusingly characterizing itself as “UCI’s official meme page” and a nonprofit organization Facebook page, UCI Memebase has demonstrated its prowess by recently taking Anteaters’ Facebook populace by storm. It currently boasts almost 3,600 likes, which is more than the number that any other UC Irvine-related Facebook page has, including UC Irvine Athletics. It allows UCI students to share their thoughts and grievances about their campus experiences with one another in the form of Internet memes. The page has been wildly successful, and it features more than 250 memes in the photos section of the page.
Though its activities will most likely dwindle as time passes by, UCI Memebase has nevertheless provided us with an intriguing perspective on UCI.
Of course, that’s not to say that the page is a bad thing. If anything, it has given the student population a bag of laughs, a necessary spark and a sense of community.
Some memes, when done correctly, can be quite hilarious. Examples include “Annoying Facebook Girl” saying “OMG! I just saw Swag Man!” and “Push-It-Somewhere-Else Patrick” saying, “Why don’t we take the good chefs from Pippin … and put them in Mesa?”
In addition to Internet meme staples, we have been lucky to witness some original creations such as “Sad Asian Kid Is Always Sad.” There’s nothing like getting a good chuckle from a joke that’s related to our university experience.
Perhaps the page’s most significant characteristic is the amount of attention it has been receiving. Anyone who has attended UCI for a year should be aware about how apathetic the campus is when it comes to school spirit.
Yet, UCI Memebase seems to defy that impression, prompting many students to like and comment on memes and share them as well.
In a sense, it has galvanized Anteaters into action and accomplished what various sectors of the university have tried to do but never really pulled off as successfully in a given period of time.
The students UCI Memebase has brought together on its page have forged a community that shares a dislike for Wiley Plus deadlines and the shuttles; the lack of parties and sub-par commons food; and the walk to MSTB or being handed one of those $16-per-appointment job flyers. Through all these humorous memes, the students are encouraged to socialize about their experiences here at UCI and find that they have many things in common with their fellow Anteaters.
However, we shouldn’t let this define UCI. What we need to do as Anteaters is to be proud of what is said in the memes (with the exception of the “Pedobear” ones), while looking beyond them to comprehend deeper meanings.
When we look at the Futurama Fry meme saying, “Not sure if I’m in bio lecture, or a Nguyen family reunion,” let us not just chortle, but also recognize and be proud of our university’s diversity. They are our fellow Anteaters, and the tremendous amount of effort which they put forth into their classes deserve our respect.
Whenever we see memes about $2 boba being constantly sold on Ring Road, don’t just grimace about how club members loudly advertise them, however annoying they may be. Instead, let us realize that they’re simply just trying to get money for their clubs and organizations, which offer unique and various opportunities and experiences to students.
UCI Memebase shouldn’t just be a source of laughs and a place to post #uciproblems. Yes, our university has issues that do deserve some attention. We do, however, also have many things to be proud of as Anteaters. And no, we’re not trolling.
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