As the groups have grown, they\u2019ve become about more than just connection. They\u2019ve also begun to play a role in the admission process, Mic reported recently<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “For many prospective freshmen, they can visit the college with their parents or whatever, but the meme group is their first taste of college life,” one unnamed meme group founder told Mic.<\/p>\n “I didn’t know that much about a lot of schools before the meme groups, so I think it helps you learn what life is like,” Ephraim Sutherland, a 19-year-old freshman at Yale and the co-founder of Yale Memes for Special\u00a0Snowflake Teens, told Mic.\u00a0“Like, a lot has happened at Berkeley this year, and I’ve watched it all unfold on the meme page before it’s even reported in news outlets… It’s how you keep up with stuff.”<\/p>\n University of Southern California is one school with a particularly thriving meme group. Timothy Brunold, a NACAC member and USC\u2019s dean of admission, said he didn\u2019t know if meme groups were starting to play a big role in enrollment decisions, but he wouldn\u2019t be surprised if that were the case.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that most students gather college information online, any\/all content certainly has the potential to impact someone\u2019s decision,\u201d Brunold said. \u201cMemes, even the particularly snarky or satirical ones, might offer particular insights into a campus\u2019 culture or issues.\u201d<\/p>\n But these meme groups can also have a downside for potential students.<\/p>\n At least 10 members of Harvard\u2019s incoming Class of 2021 had their admission offers rescinded due to sexually explicit and racist memes they posted in a private Facebook group chat, the Harvard Crimson reported.<\/a><\/p>\n The Crimson obtained screenshots of the memes posted in \u201cHarvard memes for horny bourgeois teens\u201d chat and reported that the \u201cstudents sent each other memes and other images mocking sexual assault, the Holocaust, and the deaths of children\u2026Some of the messages joked that abusing children was sexually arousing, while others had punchlines directed at specific ethnic or racial groups.\u201d<\/p>\n Like many institutions, Harvard reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission if an admitted student engages or has engaged in behavior that brings into question their honesty, maturity, or moral character. This standard is outlined to all prospective students.<\/p>\n USC has a similar policy, Brunold said.<\/p>\n \u201cAt USC, it is not our practice to search or monitor the online activity of applicants. However, if something troubling is brought to our attention, we reserve the right to look into it and, depending on what we find, we might deny an applicant or rescind an offer of admission,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have never rescinded an admission offer due to a meme post, but we have occasionally rescinded due to other online activity.\u201d<\/p>\n Content shared in meme groups should be treated like any other online activity, particularly as it relates to the admission process, Brunold said.<\/p>\n \u201cOnline expression is really just a matter of common sense: One should never assume that pictures, posts, comments, etc. are anonymous, private, or will just \u201cgo away;\u201d and (especially for prospective students or job applicants) don\u2019t put anything out there that you wouldn\u2019t want an admission committee or prospective employer to see,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe that all people have a right to express themselves, but that right comes with responsibilities and an implicit willingness to accept the potential consequences that might result.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashley Dobson is NACAC\u2019s communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at adobson@nacacnet.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gone are the days where students had to wait until freshman orientation to connect with one another. Now students have connected online before they ever arrive on campus. The latest of these online forums are Facebook meme groups and nearly every major college in America has one. Students use the groups to bond, chat, and … Continue reading Good or Bad, Meme Groups Now Play a Larger Role in College Admission<\/span> ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/8ammeme-300x300.jpg\")
<\/a>