Coming to Brown during lockdown was 鈥渉onestly a nightmare鈥� for Meghan Spangenberg 鈥�24.
As graduating seniors, Spangenberg and fellow members of the class of 2024 began their time at Brown with extensive pandemic restrictions in place. But despite the difficulties they faced adjusting to college life in isolation, the class found a non-traditional way to connect: forging online communities that continue to influence their college experiences today.
For Chas Steinbrugge 鈥�24, connecting with fellow classmates was a major concern when he started at Brown. Due to the University鈥檚
unique trimester system at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of the class of 2024 spent the fall 2020 semester taking a single class remotely, thus solely relegated to virtual communications as they tried to meet one another.
鈥淚t was definitely difficult to connect with classmates in the same way I would have hoped,鈥� Steinbrugge said, noting that he was mostly exposed to fellow students from his hometown of Richmond, Virginia.
Brayson Freeman 鈥�24 said he 鈥渇elt behind鈥� during his first year at college because all of his friends had already gone off and 鈥渟tarted (college)鈥� while he was still trying to figure out a way to meet his peers. 鈥淚t was just hard to meet people, to connect,鈥� he said.
In this complicated social context, digital communities emerged to fill the gap. Mina Sarmas 鈥�24 found that social media
offered a way for people to 鈥渃ome together.鈥�
鈥淚 applied to Brown because of its (values of) community collaboration,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven through COVID-19, and all of
the challenges that came with that, people 鈥� were able to still hold those values.鈥�
Emergence of an online community
Sarmas was at the front lines of the class of 2024鈥檚 efforts to build community. She was accepted to Brown under early decision, right before the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and created a community-wide chat on the messaging app GroupMe.
When the University released regular decision notifications in March, around two weeks after nationwide shelter-in-place
orders began, the GroupMe chat exploded.
鈥淎 bunch of people joined it,鈥� Sarmas said. 鈥淭he online community was 鈥� vibrant. There were so many people in the group chat.鈥� Membership in the chat swelled to over 1,600.
Isabella Lloyd 鈥�24 suggested that the trimester system strengthened the class鈥檚 online community.
鈥淲e kind of had that weird deferred semester and then when we came onto campus there was basically no way to connect except virtually,鈥� she said.
During that deferred semester, students used GroupeMe to organize game nights, hosting Zooms to play games like Skribbl.io or Among Us, according to both Sarmas and Steinbrugge.
Olivia Booth 鈥�24 joined the class GroupMe 鈥渁fter they told us we wouldn鈥檛 be coming on campus in the fall,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 panic-joined an obscene amount of hyper-specific鈥� chats.
Sarmas mentioned several smaller offshoots from the main GroupMe, including affinity-, geographic- and interest-based
groups.
One such chat, formed by Lloyd, brought together fans of the popular Broadway show 鈥淗amilton鈥� to of the song 鈥淎lexander Hamilton." 鈥淓veryone had parts and they were welcome to do what they like(d),鈥� Lloyd said.
鈥淲e split the lyrics individually so each person had equal time and 鈥� everyone sent videos of their parts and audios of the whole song鈥� that Lloyd then cut together.
These projects gave incoming first-years 鈥渁 sense of community鈥� and 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 have been possible without technology,鈥� Lloyd added.
While Booth doesn鈥檛 remember how she came about the 鈥淗amilton鈥� project, she looks back at her participation in the video fondly. 鈥淚t was like a ten-minute commitment,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd it鈥檚 funny to look back on it now and see people I鈥檝e met in person since and see how dramatically we鈥檝e all changed.鈥�
As a result of connections made through GroupMe, Booth also 鈥渆nded up writing a 7-episode sitcom, joining a virtual Bible study and sending a Hail Mary message to the GroupMe asking
if anybody wanted to WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) in San Diego with me for the fall,鈥� she said.
Another student responded and, a week later, the two of them moved to a San Diego commune for a month. Booth shared that she is still close friends with her WWOOFing partner, which she can 鈥渁lmost exclusively thank the Class of 鈥�24 GroupMe鈥� for.
Beyond forming important community spaces, GroupMe also provided an opportunity for students to discuss more serious topics related to the unprecedented global events the world witnessed in 2020. But the virtual nature of these discussions sometimes led to tensions within the GroupMe.
鈥�2020 was just a really crazy year,鈥� Sarmas explained. 鈥淎 lot of the outside events kind of came in (to the GroupMe). 鈥� Not being face-to-face, you couldn鈥檛 really see who you were talking to or know exactly what they were trying to say. Some people don鈥檛 convey things well over text.鈥�
Rise of BrownUMemes
Despite the first impressions made by some prolific GroupMe personalities, coming to campus in January 2021 felt like a 鈥渂lank slate鈥� to many, Steinbrugge said.
But arriving on campus didn鈥檛 end the class of 2024鈥檚 sense of isolation. Sarmas said that the first-year class was 鈥減retty isolated in terms of on-campus social life because we were in pods 鈥� you weren鈥檛 supposed to be with more than four other people including yourself.鈥�
The GroupMe remained a way to counteract this separation, according to Sarmas. During the spring semester, she also hosted virtual first-year socials and online trivia nights over Zoom in her role as the Undergraduate Council of Students鈥� first-year representative.
Others turned to more comedic forums to build community. Steinbrugge had created the popular Instagram page BrownUMemes the summer before the class of 2024鈥檚 arrival on campus.
During the college application process, Steinbrugge recalled looking at colleges鈥� meme pages and Barstool accounts 鈥渢o see what students were posting and what campus life looks like,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 noticed that there wasn鈥檛 an account for Brown,鈥� he said, and thus decided to create BrownUMemes to poke fun at students鈥� shared experiences navigating college during the
pandemic.
Steinbrugge originally geared BrownUMemes toward the class of 2024. But upon his arrival on campus, he found that much of his content applied to other class years.
鈥淲hen people are here in person, all experiencing the same dining halls, (restrictions to) only takeaway food (and) different policies that were affecting everyone simultaneously, it just led to a lot more content that I was able to make jokes about,鈥� Steinbrugge said.
While offering students entertainment, BrownUMemes also became a forum for campus discourse regarding the University鈥檚 shifting COVID-19 policies. 鈥淲henever I would make a meme that had to do with some sort of COVID-19 policy, (it) would obviously have strong feedback from either side,鈥� Steinbrugge said, noting that there was 鈥渁 good balance of agreement and occasional criticism in the comments.鈥�
Sarmas also worked to address University policies that may have been confusing to newcomers through an Instagram account called 鈥淔irst Years at Brown,鈥� where she would post resource guides for other freshmen about campus and administrative information.
Campus shifts to Sidechat
Steinbrugge stopped posting to the BrownUMemes account in April 2023, citing the 鈥渓imited possibilities for growth of the account, as well as the amount of time it took to run it.鈥�
Dear Blueno, an anonymous Facebook page board for University community members that was popular during the class of 2024鈥檚 initial arrival on campus, similarly saw a decline in engagement and was eventually unpublished by Facebook. It was later replaced by a standalone website.
While Steinbrugge felt that his meme page once filled a 鈥渃omedy void on campus,鈥� he believes that other organizations now occupy that role. 鈥淚t seems like people like getting comedy content from Sidechat and the Noser,鈥� he said.
While Dear Blueno felt safer than Sidechat for Sarmas because moderators would review each submission before posting it online, she said that 鈥渕ore people engage with Sidechat (now) 鈥� because it鈥檚 anonymous鈥� and lacks similarly rigorous regulations. A message board that allows students to instantly post their opinions, Sidechat has received attention from University community members for its content moderation policies.
Steinbrugge said that Sidechat鈥檚 anonymous nature is a 鈥渘egative鈥� because it encourages students to post more aggressive opinions, making the platform a 鈥減olarizing factor on campus.鈥�
Looking back at lockdown
Today, Freeman said that Brown feels more like 鈥渉ow college is supposed to be,鈥� and he doesn鈥檛 find himself relying on technology to connect with peers as much as he did during COVID-19. Still, he and many other members of the class of 2024 continue to view their lockdown experiences as opportunities for bonding.
鈥淲e experienced one of the most unique starts to college, and we will always be bonded because of that,鈥� Spangenberg said. 鈥淲e can all relate and sympathize with each other.鈥�
Mathilda Silbiger 鈥�24, who met many of her first friends at Brown through online classes, Instagram and an international WhatsApp group, said that 鈥渢he ways we met one another were unconventional, for sure, but this also fostered an openness unlike that of any other class I鈥檝e seen here.鈥�
鈥淚 know my friends at Brown will be my friends for life,鈥� she added.
Lloyd noted, however, that there鈥檚 currently 鈥渘o generation of students left (on campus) that knew what it was like before the pandemic, so there鈥檚 probably bits of culture that were lost.鈥�
Freeman similarly regretted that there are 鈥渟ome rituals鈥� and 鈥渢raditions鈥� he missed out on due to COVID-19.
Spangenberg echoed the sentiment. 鈥淚n all honesty, I think every university class of 2024 deserves an extra special senior spring and commencement this year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t makes me sad that people in administration have forgotten what our class went through.鈥�
Silbiger, who was a Bruno Leader this year, said her experience with 鈥渞eal, in-person 鈥榦rientation鈥� for the first time鈥� made her wonder 鈥渨hat it would have been like for our year to experience a real ice cream social, first-year dance and so on.鈥�
Still, she emphasized that she would 鈥渘ever wish for a different dynamic within our class.鈥�
While Booth said that 鈥渋t鈥檚 hard to gauge the impact of COVID internet culture on our college experience because we have no basis of comparison,鈥� she is confident that she 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 have worked on these funky projects鈥� otherwise.
鈥淚 am super grateful for a ton of people I met through these niche-themed online groups that I鈥檓 still good friends with,鈥� she said.
Jack Tajmajer is a Metro editor who oversees the Beyond Brown beat. He is a Senior from Bethany, Connecticut and Bethlehem, New Hampshire studying Political Science and Economics. His mother operates an alpaca farm and he tried a blueberry for the first time at age 17.
Tom Li is a Metro Editor covering the Health & Environment and Development & Infrastructure beats. He is from Pleasanton, California, and is concentrating in Economics and International & Public Affairs. He is an avid RIPTA passenger and enjoys taking (and criticizing) personality tests in his free time.
