By Diana Son, BA Law and Politics
If you are a SOAS student and an Instagram user, it is more than likely that you have come across a meme by @soasunimemes, either on their page or through the countless story reposts made by fellow SOAS students. Since the beginning of the term, over 50 posts have been published on the page, featuring submissions from followers, as well as posts created by the admins; all of these revolve around the typical experiences students have at SOAS. In an anonymous interview, the admins describe their content as ‘a blend of student humour, political satire, and real-life SOAS concerns.’
“they expressed how the anonymity makes them ‘feel liberated’ to ‘say whatever [they] wanted without fear of being judged’”
While students attempt to discover who leads the account, the identity of the admins continues to be a mystery. During the interview, they revealed that there are five admins; however, they wished to stay anonymous, even joking that they ‘don’t want to get jumped.’ On a serious note, they expressed how the anonymity makes them ‘feel liberated’ to ‘say whatever [they] wanted without fear of being judged’ or being ‘questioned about [their] posts.’
Despite their humour-based nature, the memes do not fail to bring attention to the unpleasant aspects; the admins attribute the rise of their popularity to their ‘straightforward approach that has resonated with students.’ They claim they are ‘the only SOAS page that posts humour and also addresses difficulties at this university, making them an important awareness-raising platform among uninformed students. This means the page is somewhat of a public forum, and with that comes a lot of interaction with the students. Based on that, we wondered what the admins believe is the biggest ‘issue’ currently surrounding SOAS and its community. In return, the admins had a list ready:
- ‘The security guards, who are now ruining what should be a normal student experience […] by physically moving students and verbally assaulting us’;
- What they claim is the university’s failure to ‘hire enough cleaners to handle the maintenance […] resulting in inappropriate working conditions;
- The expectation on lecturers to ‘provide [a] world-class education,’ while being ‘subjected to questionable working conditions’.
The admins find this management ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘absurd’, supporting the criticism being voiced around the university. Like many students, they link all these issues to one core concern. They express, ‘there is a significant administration problem at the school, and Adam Habib is the root of it all,’ which is evident in their content which often highlights what they claim to be the hypocrisies of the SOAS Director.
When asked about the account’s mission statement, the admins responded, ‘we honestly just want to entertain students.’ They described the current state of the world as ‘gloomy’, with a ‘variety of socioeconomic challenges, which can be difficult for students who already have a lot on their minds.’ The admins’ main aim is to ensure no one is ignored.
They conclude, ‘I suppose we’re like humour therapists? Is that a thing? We’re going to make it a thing.’ Judging by the popularity of their page, @soasunimemes is achieving their aim just right.
Photo Caption: One of the first memes posted on the account (Credit: @soasunimemes on Instagram).