In today’s world, memes provide an opportunity to uplift communities in the strangest ways imaginable.
The University of Idaho’s unofficial meme page gives students a creative outlet to voice concerns about the university, while also making sure members of the page can find a bit of a chuckle.
While meme phenomena are new to today’s society, popularity in creating the next internet-breaking joke builds a plethora of internet memes to choose from.
“UIdaho Memes for Scott’s Tots” currently stands tall at nearly 3,900 members, with 38 people joining the page within the past week.
And its popularity continues to grow, making the meme page community a giant conglomerate of a family.
The cover page photo beautifully sums up the essence of the page itself.
With the backdrop of the Idaho campus, Joe Vandal and President Scott Green recreate the iconic “The Creation of Adam” painting. But instead of symbolizing any religious tendencies the original painting conveys, Joe Vandal and President Green connect on the dependable and crucial tater tot.
The cover page photo symbolizes a university rallying around a new president, introducing him to UI’s meme culture and never looking back.
If any campus issues might be bothersome, you can always rely on “Scott’s Tots” to make light of the situation.
No dilemma or situation on campus is too big for the meme page to not include.
With today’s current climate, being able to make light of and joke about a situation can help ease tension and even eliminate stress.
In a strange way, the memes provide a different outlet for students to receive their news on campus as well. If a certain topic is receiving multiple different variations of memes, then the topic must be a hot commodity on campus.
Students may even question the reality of the actual matter and want to make a change.
Are memes able to provoke powerful messages of change? Absolutely, and if not, at least a good laugh comes out of a possible terrible situation turned comedic.
The “Scott’s Tots” community provides a place where students and faculty can unite and see their own situations are relatable. Sometimes it can be a lonely feeling — thinking no one else has the same day-to-day issues — but “Scott’s Tots” proves the UI community can relate to one another.
And to help the daily stressors people deal with throughout the week, sending a few memes out to the rest of “Scott’s Tots” can help bring at least one smile a day.
Theorists say the original “The Creation of Adam” painting depicts that God created man in his own image. But in the reimagined Idaho meme of the classic painting, UI students have created a campus in their own image, with President Green and Joe Vandal as their meme catalyst.
Memes can provide a strange outlet for fun, news and stress relief, and the “Scott’s Tots” meme page will continue to be a voice for the students at Idaho.
— Editorial Board