Words by Taryn McMillan

Pop culture commonly portrays university life as a time to let loose and have fun, before entering the grim realm of adult responsibilities. Movies such as Project X play up this version of late adolescence, and sociologists have even selected a name—Peter Pan Syndrome—to describe the tendency of individuals in their 20s to put off getting married, buying a house and having children.

The echo chamber of social media, however, portrays a very different post-secondary narrative. According to online memes, post-secondary schools are places of hard work, not leisure. An Internet meme usually takes the form of a stock image accompanied by brief captions. Like advertisements for products, memes are short and sweet, and are meant to pack a punch. In recent months, post-secondary students have capitalized on this medium, and created memes to reflect their own campus experiences.

I spent an afternoon browsing the database of memes created by students at the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM), and I was struck by how intuitively they reflect the major issues underlying education today. Overpopulation is a chronic problem on all three of the U of T campuses, and the memes reveal that a lack of study space in the library, long lines at the registrar office, and a shortage of food options on campus are among students’ primary concerns.

It’s easy to see, however, that certain problems caused by overpopulation are not easy to solve. Problems with email server systems and other campus technology suggest that the university’s infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with high rates of enrolment.

The memes also exude school pride, usually by bashing the competition. It’s clear that choosing a post-secondary school is a pivotal moment in a young student’s life and it’s essential to find the right learning environment in order to succeed. Campus amenities clearly have a huge impact on the effectiveness of education.

UTM students also, evidently, admire the fact that their campus is so naturalized. While walking between classes, for example, it’s common to spot deer in the surrounding forest, or a red-winged blackbird building a nest. There’s also lots of space to study outdoors on campus, especially when the weather is nice.

It seems, for the time being, that student voices are being heard. In an effort to increase the ratio of faculty to students, many universities are cutting back enrollment in 2012, and the University of Toronto is distributing students more equally across its two satellite campuses. Memes may be just another passing phase, but their popularity indicates the power of social media to effect change.

To browse the Facebook page of UTM memes, check out http://www.facebook.com/UTMmemes.