SLC builds community through funny social media pages

Post by hannah gottlieb-graham '17 on the pub rediscovered Facebook page.

The Sarah Lawrence community has not always been known for its sparkling sense of humor. Nevertheless, there is a pretty funny bunch of kids who call this campus home. Over the years a number of absolutely hilarious web pages have cropped up, pioneered by students both in the spotlight and anonymously.

The most most popular page to develop recently has been The Pub Rediscovered. Created in light of recent architectural and procedural changes at the short-order dining hall in the Siegel Center, this public page started out as a place where students could go to share their favorite new menu items, tips and tricks to get the best bang for your buck, and warnings against absolutely inedible options. But, quickly turned into a raucous forum talked about all around campus.

Though Stephanie Permut (‘15) created the page, Chase Hawley (‘15) quickly rose as the page’s shining star. Permut pinned a post at the top of the page that describes this sentiment: “To clarify: I made this page but Chase is decidedly the better administrator.”

@xoxobates never fails to keep us posted on all the dining hall happs

Some other posts of note on this page include photos of a razor (“pub artifact”) found above an exit sign in the Pub, recipes for the best make-your-own sandwiches, lamentations about the lack of easily accessible mayonnaise, honey mustard, and ranch dressing, and lively debates about the best breakfast items. Not only is The Pub Rediscovered a hoot-and-a-half, but it’s also oddly useful.

Another account created to honor the culinary institutions of SLC is Twitter account @xoxobates. This user elatedly describes the best options at Bates, urging people to “TRY THE APPLE CRISP” or letting them know, “Soup smells good and potatoey but is pretty eh. Potatoes were big in the kitchen this week.” This anonymous user claims in their bio that “this is not a joke,” and the seriousness of their tweets holds true to this statement. @xoxobates tweets honestly and passionately about anything and everything Bates dining hall—and often has some pretty valid commentary.

One of the more well-known pages that has lasted throughout the years is overheardatslc.tumblr.com. This Tumblr account, which like @xoxobates is operated anonymously, follows in a trend of “OverheardAt” pages that take submissions from any eavesdroppers of funny things heard in passing. This page’s description reads “eavesdropping at SLC has never been so fun,” and then proves it with some of the most laugh-out-loud quotes ever. A few recent favorites include, “see, for a long time I thought porn was satire,” “my record of pizza bagels eaten in one sitting is 17,” and “I don’t know how you confused ‘fellatio’ with ‘cannibalism.’”

One of this week's posts on overheardatslc.tumblr.com

Despite all of the ha ha’s that this page delivers, some serious stuff sometimes comes up. Not only does this page post submissions from users, but also answers questions and posts wider community questions submitted by users. For example, just last week OverheardAtSLC did a whole thread devoted to transfer students and the transfer student process. These posts were not just informational, but also described the community and how welcoming SLC students are of transfers. Overall, the effect was pretty darn heartwarming. You can submit to OverheardAtSLC by submitting on their tumblr page, or by using the hashtag #OverheardAtSLC on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

sad, poetic posts like this one are typical of tumblr account, slcmissedconnections.tumblr.com

It demonstrates that Sarah Lawrence students, who at times can be pretty awkward, can make connections online. Another tumblr page that capitalizes on this uncomfortable truth is SLCMissedConnections.tumblr.com: “Because we’re too awkward to talk to each other IRL.” This page allows visitors to anonymously submit their SLC crushes on campus. For example, the most recent post reads, “Anonymous asked: The kid who I opened the door for twice in one day in MacCracken. Once one way; later, the other. I commented on your painted nails.” Though it does not overtly express this, the point of Anonymous is that they have a crush on the person for whom he/she opened the door.

a Post from november 2011 on the raunchy  titsworthslc.tumblr.com

Like OverheardAtSLC, anonymous submissions of crushes are not the only option for page visitors. It is also possible to anonymously respond to other posts and give more detailed information about the person in question. For example, another recent post described a particular individual, and a response to that post named him. Maybe the original anonymous poster will now have the guts to talk to him!

Some other funky sites have come and gone through SLC’s cyberspace. TitsworthSLC.tumblr.com was a place where students could anonymously submit pictures of their breasts/nipples. Most pictures on this site are from 2011, however there are a few more recent ones (the last post was from February). Submitters generally submit these nude pictures with portions of their SLC ID cards showing, to protect their identity, but also prove that they are indeed SLC students and not random people from the Internet.

THe newest unofficial slc page: @slc_party, has been the talk of the student body

In the past few weeks, a new page has popped up on the social media platform Instagram called @SLC_Party. This, also anonymous, user posts cryptic pictures with messages to the location of various parties around campus. This account is private, so to follow this user one must be approved by the administrator (whoever that may be). For a while this account was unused, but, just last weekend they posted the location of a party in Rothschild that was actually pretty poppin'. Too bad Public Safety got the tip too and the festivities were broken up before 1 a.m.

Each year, around conference week, a forum called SLCAnon pops up in some random, free message board online, usually engineered by sneaky upperclassmen. While the other SLC pages are generally fun, inclusive and empowering, this page is gossipy, divisive and mean. Students post rude messages about people, share dirty secrets, and just generally pass judgment on others, anonymously. In past years, the Administration has actually found and shut down SLCAnon forums, but not before they’ve done some damage first.

In an age when cyberbullying runs rampant through virtual communities, it is pretty cool to see people actually coming together in a really positive way online—with SLCAnon as the rare outlier. For all of those naysayers who say that SLC lacks a strong sense of community, hit the web and get involved!

by Wade Wallerstein '17
Editor-in-Chief
wwallerstein@gm.slc.edu