opinions

OPINIONS WWW.OBUSIGNAL.COM | PAGE 7

BY RYLEE ROBERTS Staff Writer OBU meme pages bring laughter Rising meme culture among stu- dents at Ouachita highlights campus-focused and campus-friendly comedy. Instagram provides an easily accessible platform for Ouachita students to find creative ways to entertain their classmates. Through unofficial Ouachita social media accounts, the already tight-knit Ouachita student body moves even closer to one another through a new generation of inside jokes.

Over the last few semesters, several non-official Ouachita Instagram accounts have surfaced and gained considerable popularity. Created by students and for students, the accounts offer hilarious commentary regarding the people of OBU, the Ouachita college experience and various events as they take place at the university.

Here are a few of the most popular unofficial OBU accounts.

@overheardOBU: For your daily dose of Christian comedy, read through the posts on this account. Random quotes heard around campus debut out of context. Instagram users submit what they hear others say around campus out of context. The laughs brought from unintentional eavesdropping have earned this account over 1,000 followers. Here are some samples of its posts:

“My parents are squash farmers, what do you want from me?”

“I want Sonic, actually, I think I just want the Sonic experience, to sit in my car in a stall.”

“My toes are so cold, I think I may start a musical about it.”

“I have a fond memory of that pothole.”

“This rain is going to wash away my motivation and my Tunes makeup.”

Next time you catch a single line of a conversation while walking to your next class, consider making a submission by direct messaging the account on Instagram with the quote and where on campus you heard it.

Junior Mason Holder, a middle school education major, enjoys following @overheardOBU for its funny content.

“Overheard at OBU is a fun experience because you hear things you might not usually have the opportunity to hear out of fear of feeling stupid or judged,” Holder said. @obucafreviews: To keep tabs on which dishes to try in the cafeteria, give a follow to the cafeteria review page. Sophomores Mitchell Waite and Logan Daust star on the account and bring in fellow students as guest tasters, offering their opinions on various cafeteria offerings. Over 750 students follow the account.

After giving a short description of the entrée, they offer their signature line, “One bite, everyone knows the rules.” A quick description of how it tastes follows, and a rating out of ten concludes each review. The account reviews everything from chicken to pasta to international dishes.

@obu_memeth: This meme account accepts submissions from Instagram users who create memes regarding college life at Ouachita. Over 600 students follow the account. Include your handle with your submission for meme credit. @eligiblebachelorsofobu: On this page, single men at Ouachita get featured as “eligible bachelors.” The page posts a picture of the male with an accompanying short biography including their major and general interests. In its short life, this page has gained over 500 followers. Single ladies, this one is for you!

@crushesofobu: If you want your crush to know someone has eyes for them, make an anonymous submission to this account. Submissions are sent through an online form and posted anonymously, so you have nothing to lose.

The page posts a picture of submitted crushes and includes the class of the admirer when included. “Secret admirer” submissions are also accepted. Add to the over 500 followers on this account to see if anyone is crushing on you!

These student-run accounts create a new sense of community, placing eyes and ears all over campus. Keep your eyes and ears open, because you could possibly be the next feature on one of these accounts.

Date auctions provide fun

BY VALERIA GOMEZ Staff Writer

Are date auctions fun and trendy or useless and old-fashioned? Ouachita men’s social clubs usually host these events, and they come with both pros and cons.

A date auction is an event with the purpose of raising money for a charity or organization by paying to go on a date with somebody, and just like in any auction, the highest bidder wins. It is common for celebrities to do this; they auction concert tickets or meet and greet passes to those who would like to donate to a cause they represent.

Let’s talk about pros. Going to a date auction can be especially beneficial if the environment and the people inspire others to donate. The energy can be contagious.

These auctions are also a great opportunity, if you are bold enough, to bid on the person that you like. If you are lucky, you might end up walking out with a date with your crush. Or you might be going just to do one of your friends a favor. Either way, going to an auction can be a lot of fun. For the bidder, one of the benefits is that you get to go on a (hopefully) fun date.

Now, it’s time to talk about the cons. As college students, money can be a big issue. Every dollar counts. At the auction you will need to “buy” the person you bid on. This can be too expensive for a college student and might discourage people not only from bidding but also from even attending.

Bidding on a person might not be comfortable or easy. If your crush is up next and they get on stage, you don´t want to expose yourself by letting all the people in the room know that you want to go on a date with that person. Even if you are bidding for one of your friends just to get them out of there, it can be nerve-wracking to raise your hand and make an offer. If a few people are going after the same person that can cause tension in the room.

Date auctions can hurt people´s feelings by making them feel bad about themselves. Fun can easily be lost if people start looking at others as objects; this can be degrading. If no one bids on the person up on stage, it can be a very awkward situation for everybody and the mood of the room could change. It would not be nice to make someone feel unloved or unwanted; that is not the purpose of date auctions!

Date auctions promote collaboration and student involvement. It´s always good to take a break from school work and go do something outside the box. This can be an interesting activity to go to with your friends, but remember that the main purpose of this activity is to contribute to the social club and not to hurt anyone´s feelings. for all when done correctly