By now, a great many of the 70,000 students enrolled at ASU have seen the spot-on “Sh-t Girls Say” parody featuring a few of ASU’s own.
“Sh-t ASU Students Say” went viral, amassing more than 100,000 views and capitalizing on the YouTube sensation in which people make fun of the stereotypical sayings of particular groups.
The ASU version is a perfect encapsulation of life here. Every day, you’ll hear students refer to Hayden Library as “Club Hayden,” or bemoan the lack of adequate bike parking. We can all identify with frantically trying to buy a light rail pass just as the train pulls up to the station platform. We’ve all wondered, who goes to the Polytechnic building? These little inside-jokes that only ASU students would understand showcase many of the charming and quirky things that are unique to ASU.
Some see the video’s depiction of ASU’s party school reputation as “giving the school a bad rap,” according to a segment on CBS 5 local news.
“I'd say only about 50 percent of the video seemed pretty accurate, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's a ‘good’ representation of the ASU life,” said Christopher Juarez, a freshman psychology major. “Some parts are pretty funny and true, like the inability of finding your bike amongst hundreds that look the same or waking up in a place you definitely don't live at.”
The people up in arms about ASU’s “bad” reputation seem to be missing the point — it’s a parody. It’s funny. It’s meant to be self-deprecating, a picture of the typical ASU student’s social life.
Partying is neither the rule nor the exception. Like any other institution, one exaggerated aspect is not likely to put off prospective students.
Along these lines, a Facebook fan page for ASU memes started up last week, featuring memes such as the Success Kid celebrating getting “texted into the Vue, like a boss” or the Lazy College Senior taking a road trip to Las Vegas after another one of Blackboard’s many meltdowns.
The page now has more than 5,000 likes. UA has a similar page, which has garnered nearly half as many likes. (Way to be original, guys.)
Sure, most of the memes relate to partying in some way, but ASU’s reputation has expanded past the “party school” rap to a more inclusive institution and a leader in technological innovation.
Arizona is now 100 years old. ASU has truly been transformed into a modern university as the state has expanded and accommodated people from every walk of life.
A few jokes about the amount we party here have no effect on the prestige of ASU. Bravo to Devil’s Chowda for making us all laugh and reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously.
Reach the columnist at skthoma4@asu.edu
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