The excitement of the beginning of the new school year is quickly dwindling. Classes are becoming repetitive and the idea of sitting down and doing homework without spending time procrastinating on the Internet has gone out the window for most students. Instead of checking Blackboard, we’re logging onto Facebook and then when that’s gotten boring, the next stop for many is BuzzFeed: the one-stop website for all things cute, weird and, most importantly, entertaining.
For once though, us Quinnipiac students actually have a good reason other than not wanting to start doing work to check out BuzzFeed, thanks to senior Angela Romano and her now viral post “25 Signs You Go To Quinnipiac University.” Filled with a slew of Quinnipiac exclusive quirks, the list touches on everything from the antics of Java John to the failures of the shuttle system and BobcatNet, but manages to be relatable for the newest members of the university community.
“I’ve been a big fan of BuzzFeed and the dry sense of humor that its articles have for a while,” Romano said. “That combined with my love for Quinnipiac made writing this a blast.”
The concept of creating the post came when Romano and senior Joe Rodriguez saw a similar list on the site for another university. After bouncing potential ideas off one another, the two edited out the kinks and posted the final version online last Tuesday afternoon. Instantly students began taking notice and started tweeting and sharing it all over the Internet. Less than 24 hours after Romano unleashed it to the BuzzFeed community, it hit 10,000 pageviews, officially making it viral.
“I posted the article at 2 p.m. right before I went to one of my classes,” Romano said. “When the class was over and I checked my phone, I had a bunch of notifications from Twitter saying that some people shared it and by the end of the day Aunchies tweeted about it and it was all over Facebook. I never expected it to become so popular this fast.”
So far, the reaction has been nothing but positive, especially from the students.
“Everything in the post is so spot on about Quinnipiac,” junior Sarah Nelson said. “I really love how it encompasses every aspect of our lives on campus and not just academics or partying. You really get the whole picture of Quinnipiac.”
Freshman Hailey Verneris seconded what Nelson said.
“Before I even read it, I thought that I would only be able to relate to a few of the things on the list since I’m a freshman,” Verneris said. “However, I understood most of them, which was really cool for me. I really like how it pokes fun at the things students typically complain about.”
Not only have the students been commenting on how relatable the list is, but also alumni. Romano has even heard kind words about it from the Admissions Office.
“At first I was nervous as to how the administration would react to it because of its honesty, but the response has been great,” Romano said. “A friend of mine works in the admissions office and told me that those that work there love it. Hearing that was pretty cool.”
As of Sunday night, the post has 23,338 views. Despite its surprising amount of success, Romano and Rodriguez don’t have plans to write a follow up to it in the near future. Instead, they want to tackle topics that appeal to a broader range of students outside of the Quinnipiac bubble.
“I have no idea how I’m going to top this one,” Romano said. ”I feel like this article set really high standards for whatever else I write next.”
As for this article, Romano reflected on it as a comical piece that holds potential as a social media promotion of our ever-growing university.
“But, I’m really interested to see what happens to the post in the future,” she said. “Who knows, maybe this list will encourage potential students to come to Quinnipiac.”
