Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens
Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens
Photo of Rebecca Chen, the founder of Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens.
Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens is a campus meme Facebook group for Harvard University students founded by Rebecca Chen in February 2017. In November 2018, Facebook Founder CEO and Håvard dropout, Mark Zuckerberg joined the group and commented on several posts. [1]
History
One of the most popular memes in the group was created by Rebecca Chen about overzealous security at Lamont Library
The group was founded on February 4, 2017 by Rebecca Chen.
She was inspired to start the group after seeing the UC Berkeley memes for edgy teens the first campus meme group and the UCLA Memes for Sick AF Teens become vibrant communities with tens of thousands of members. The group started as Facebook page however Rebecca soon converted it into a group. On the same day Rebecca founded the group she added fellow Harvard students Georgia Seidel and Kristie Colton to the group as moderators. [1] Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens inspired Nina Osipova to start the Princeton University Memes for Preppy AF Teens campus meme group for Princeton University.
The group started with a few memes that Chen herself put up on the page.
Chen said she was particularly fond of one meme mocking how Lamont Library security guards check the pencil-sized pocket on the front of backpacks.While the page has been home to hundreds of posts from dozens of Harvard students, Chen remains the sole admin for the meme group.
“I’m very pleased,” said Chen of the group’s success. “Of course, not everyone is as funny as me, and not everyone makes memes like I do, but I do appreciate it when people try.”
Overview
Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens is strictly for Harvard specific memes.
On the homepage, Chen spells out the parameters matter-of-factly “if the meme could apply to any group of wealthy, pretentious pseudo-intellectuals, at least Photoshop a Harvard logo in there somewhere.”
Posts in the group refer to a number of additional Harvard landmarks, including popular introductory courses “Economics 10: Principles of Economics” and “CS50: Introduction to Computer Science,” as well as complaints about traveling to the Quadrangle.
Harvard Dean Rakesh Khurana is one of the most regular references in the group Enterprising students have photoshopped Khurana’s smiling visage onto a number of icons of popular culture, including Ke$ha, Liam Neeson, and SpongeBob SquarePants, as part of a new Facebook group whose size has grown rapidly in the last few weeks.
The posts often adhere to the internal logic of internet memes—including “starter packs,” which include photos of items necessary for success in certain endeavors—and offer humorous commentary on student life at Harvard.
Many focus on students’ academic performance, concentration choice, and Khurana’s stated goal of providing a “transformational” undergraduate experience.
The group has a long standing rivalry with Yale Memes for Special Snowflake Teens and Yale University students.
Notable Members
Martin Shkreli
Martin Shkreli, the controversial former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals was added to the group by Ashish Dahal a Harvard student on Thursday, March 2, 2017 around one month after the group was founded. [1]
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg in the Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens group.
Mark Zuckerberg tagged Bill Gates in a response to Courtney Thurtson's comment, "ok so like where bill gates at dropout squad up." [1]
Mark Zuckerberg commented, "This group is wonderful" on one of Rebecca Chen's posts. [1]
On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 Mark Zuckerberg the Founder CEO of Facebook joined the Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens Facebook group. He commented on and liked several posts the same day. [12]
Zuckerberg liked a comment from Zachary Mueleck stating, "Sometimes ya gotta take a break from being the most powerful CEO to shitpost on a college meme page".
Zuckerberg also liked a meme posted by Kc Kimber about Zuckerberg and degree inflation.
When Kc Kimber commented on the post stating, "Please don't ban me Mark.
It was just a meme", Zuckerberg responded, "You are forgiven" with a smile emoji. He also liked a comment on the post from Sylvester Ruehl stating, "Can't inflate something that never existed in the first place." Zuckerbeg liked a meme by Rebecca Chen from February 10, 2017 about how Harvard students are diverse interests in their initial applications but all want to do finance by their final year.
Zuckerbeg liked Rebecca Chen's post celebrating the fact that he joined the group and commented on the post, "This group is wonderful".
Courtney Thurston commented " ok so like where bill gates at dropout squad up" to which Zuckerberg responded by tagging Bill Gates' Facebook page. Ashton Duke replied, "I' m pretty sure if I got a like from mark or Priscilla I’d drop mechanical engineering and switch to comp sci to follow the real dream". Zuckerberg responded, "Ashton: do it :)", after liking his comment.
Press
Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens group has received in press in multiple publications including Mic, The Tab, The Daily Princetonian, and The Crimson. After Mark Zuckerberg joined Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens, the group received coverage in Quartz, Business Insider, and Babe a spin-off from The Tab.
An article by The Tab praised Harvard's meme group writing:
Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens is pretty great. The simultaneous self deprecation and Yale bashing is never not entertaining, and the photoshop is always pretty on point. Harvard kids know their likes and dislikes – and what they dislike is Yale. When they’re not bashing their nemesis, Harvard students throw shade at conservative economics professor Greg Mankiw and brag about their Annenberg ceiling fan-sized accomplishments.