TRENDING ON THE TRACK Oregon Heptathlete Gianna Bullock Redefines The Collegiate Athlete As Content Creator
By Ruby Wool
R
unning a few minutes late after track practice at Hayward Field, Gianna Bullock slowly opened the back door to her Communication Law class. The creaking entry and click of its latch forced a pause in the professor’s lecture. The University of Oregon (UO) senior heptathlete placed her electric scooter beside the entrance and quietly weaved through rows of students and sprawled out backpacks, proceeding to a fourth-row seat. She pulled her chair out from under the desk, and the friction between the chair’s legs and the tiled floor produced a faint squeak. She found a seat beside her roommate, who gave Bullock a soft smile while the teacher continued talking about the Tinker v. Des Moines Supreme Court case. Donning all black, with hints of Oregon green and yellow, Bullock opened her computer and absorbed the discussion about student speech on school campuses. Her professor explained the precedent set in the landmark case, where the justices established that school officials cannot censor student speech unless it materially and substantially disrupts the educational process. Just a few minutes into the lesson, Bullock’s backpack vibrated, and her alarm sounded across the room. The clock read 2:50 p.m., signaling her 10-minute reminder to post a TikTok video. According to the social media app’s insights, Bullock has the best chance to engage with her 139,700 TikTok followers, 70% of whom are females between the ages of 15 and 23, at that time. Bullock’s cheeks turned a slightly redder pigment than the post-practice flush. She silenced her device but quickly opened the draft folder in the app. The then 21-year-old prepared her post and finalized her caption, hashtags, and cover photo. By 3 p.m., the five-second, pre-recorded video began attracting views and receiving likes.
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