With over 2,000 “likes” on Facebook and continuous shares popping up on Facebook newsfeeds, you’ve probably noticed that Carleton is in a “meme war” with the University of Ottawa.
If you’re unfamiliar with Internet terminology and slang, the best description of a meme is the following, from UrbanDictionary.com: “A unit of cultural information that represents a basic idea that can be transferred from one individual to another, and subjected to mutation, crossover and adaptation.” In this case, it’s photographs that have gone viral with their own attached phrases, modified to mock uOttawa or Carleton.
Carleton started the Facebook page “Carleton Pride” in response to uOttawa’s page, “Bitch Please…! I go to the University of Ottawa.” It was funny and light-hearted for the first day or two. The memes actually made sense in relation to the attached photo or phrase and sparked interesting comments.
But now they’ve just spiraled out of control. Some of the memes remain humourous, but most have turned either ridiculous or just plain stupid. The comments section is even worse. Short-tempered people with power at their hands, via their keyboards, has just lead to nasty remarks.
What happened to the good-natured rivalry between the two Ottawa schools? The competition between the two universities has turned aggressive with the help of social media. Some may see this as a modern way to display a symbolic rivalry between the two, but really it’s just showing everyone’s bad sides.
What makes me upset is to see some of the comments posted. There have been a few low blows from uOttawa students making remarks concerning the issue of sexual violence that we’ve had on campus. One uOttawa student made this comment on a photo on the Carleton page: “Are those tunnels where [Carleton] students take part in their kiddie touching 101 classes?” Making fun of victims just isn’t funny.
Carleton students haven’t been any better. What’s so bad about being a bilingual university? It opens up diversity at uOttawa and allows opportunities for those who want to be in an English environment, but also continue their studies in French. Being able to speak French in Canada, let alone a government city like Ottawa, is actually a good thing.
Everyone I know who applied to Carleton also applied, or debated about applying, to uOttawa — same goes for the people I know from uOttawa. And you can bet most students who already lived in the city applied to both universities. Really, the only difference between the two is if one offers a specialized program the other doesn’t (for example, biomedical sciences is offered at uOttawa, but not at Carleton).
This negative rivalry can lead to people from outside of the city to perceive Ottawa differently. Why would they want to study in a city where the students are hostile to one another based on where they chose to go to school?
It’s also making most students come across as immature. Young adults often demand they be treated as young professionals and get taken seriously — then we pull a stunt like this. If you want to be treated with respect, show others a little more respect.
Just because Carleton and uOttawa are two major universities in one city doesn’t mean we should be in constant battle with one another. It’s fun every once in a while, but when people turn aggressive just to show school spirit? Now that’s just sad.
I can appreciate the humour behind some of the memes just as much as anyone, but I believe you can maintain these schools’ somewhat “historic” rivalry without having to play dirty.
