Lee related Instagram pages highlight campus’ unique culture
Photo by Rhianna Barrow.
Well-loved Instagram pages have made their mark on Lee’s campus by amassing followers and embedding inside jokes and traditions in students’ daily conversations.
Lee students have a unique bubble of influence as an influx of Instagram pages have taken over the student body’s social media feed.
Most notably, sassypaulconn began the trend on Twitter in 2015 by photoshopping Paul Conn in obscure manners. Created by Stan Medlin, he began the page after sending a photoshopped picture of Conn as a figure skater to his residence hall’s GroupMe, and later transitioned the account to Instagram.
The account has accumulated over 1,000 followers since 2014 and sparked a new outlet for students to contribute.
“I love to think that I shaped Lee Culture. It was a small shift, but I at least contributed to that,” Medlin said. “It was funny to be a part of it.”
After graduation, Medlin continued the legacy and passed the account to an undisclosed student.
Following the lead of sassypaulconn, Leeumemes2023 now surpasses the page with over 1,400 followers.
Run by a duo of friends sworn to anonymity, the pair started their page in September 2019 to bring students relatable content about attending Lee.
“During the first week of classes, we joked about how many of our experiences were meme-worthy, especially for freshmen,” a content creator behind Leeumemes2023 said. “Starting the page was initially a way to joke around with each other, and we never thought it would get as much attention as it did.”
The creators have an ongoing joke about how the page doubles as their extracurricular activity throughout their day. They spend at least 5 to 20 minutes on each meme once an idea comes to mind.
“When we’re creating memes, I feel inspired like I’m making art,” said a content creator behind Leeumemes2023. “Just sending ideas back and forth until we get the best format and wording and the anticipation of posting is great.”
The purpose behind the page is to make students laugh. Students interact with the page through submissions, comments and by sharing the page’s posts to their personal Instagram stories.
“We never anticipated an audience, but now that we have one, it’s a fun way to connect to everyone on campus and laugh over shared experiences — good and bad,” a content creator behind Leeumemes2023 said.
Associate Professor of Human Development Dr. Jerome Hammond said our innate need for interaction with others is a factor behind the pages’ popularity.
“We are hyper-social animals — we have to interact. We want people’s reaction and attention,” Hammond said. “Feedback is what we really crave. Attention is an incredibly powerful reinforcer.”
While the pages steadily grow in following, a majority of the account owners choose to remain anonymous. Hammond said the reasoning is often due to social repercussions. With anonymity, students have the power to post anything they desire.
“When we get face-to-face, there is no real power,” said Hammond. “Alternate parts of our personality can come out on social media by using the anonymity and avoiding social repercussions of their peers.”
Smaller Instagram pages are drawing attention to specific aspects of Lee’s community. For example, flames_of_lee_u focuses on dating and marriage culture as they snap photos of couples around campus when they least expect it.
“Dating/marriage culture at Lee is super funny, and highlighting it seemed fitting,” said the student behind the account. “I love that people found humor in it. I love that it put a smile on someone’s face because school can be so overwhelming.”
For these pages to be successful, Hammond reiterated the importance of catering to the audience, specifically dating.
“When it comes to 17 or 23 years old’s, [they] are interested in relationships,” said Hammond. “It is a lot like selling a product — or a market. To start a popular page, you have to tap into your audience.”
Even the newest class of students has begun to embrace the Instagram trend. Run by a group of freshman students, Leeuscoots features students rolling through campus on different sets of wheels.
The scooter crew has 12 core members, but they believe anyone with wheels is welcome to be a part. Students noticed the account and bought wheels of their own to interact with the page by tagging “no wheels left behind” on their posts and stories.
“[It started] kind of as a joke when we all first met and got scooters. We joked about making an Instagram until we finally did,” a crew member said. “We are so honored for all the support and love we have gotten over the past few weeks. We wouldn’t be here without all of our loving fans and fellow scooters.”
Editor's Note: LeeuScoots, flames_of_lee_u and Leeumemes2023 all agreed to be interviewed under the source of anonymity. All sources were verified as current Lee students by the Lee Clarion advisor.
