Title: President Hanlon and the Hibachi Grill

General Information:

• Joke
• 4/27/2019
• English
• USA, Dartmouth College

Informant:

• Luke C. ‘20
• 20 years old
• Grew up in New York City, NY
• Studies Government at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

• Luke said that he saw a meme with a still image from a promotional video of a popular video game. He decided to add a picture of a Hibachi grill and then superimpose, Phil Hanlon’s face to make a meme that was relevant to Dartmouth culture.
• This meme was intended to make light of the incident and Phil Hanlon as the digital embodiment of the university.

Cultural Context:

• In the fall of 2016 one of the dormitories at Dartmouth, Morton Hall, burned down because two students were attempting to grill on the roof of the building. This resulted in the building catching fire which cost the school millions of dollars and was a serious issue that the administration had to deal with.
• Phil Hanlon is the President of Dartmouth College and is very frequently used in memes about Dartmouth.

Quotes from the interview:

“Phil Hanlon embodies Dartmouth in human form. Memes like the critique and poke fun at the administration in a way that only Dartmouth student understand.”

Title: I’m Interning at

General Information:

• Narrative
• 4/27/2019
• English
• USA, Dartmouth College

Informant Information:

• M. B.
• 21 years old
• Grew up in Boston, MA
• Studies English at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

• M.B. said she saw this meme in a group chat. It was shared among the other Dartmouth students who she lives with.
• Goldman Sachs is considered a prestigious internship, and many of the people who receive it tend to brag about it which is considered faux paus at Dartmouth.
• In this meme, the individual is shown going out of his way to tell another student about his achievement.

Cultural Context:

• Dartmouth College has a strong culture of humility and self deprecation given the fact that most students tend to be high achievers.
• In men’s restrooms in the United States it is generally understood and commonly followed etiquette that you don’t use a urinal directly adjacent to another person unless necessary. Doing so is seen to violate social and personal space rules, and is seen as intrusive.

Title: Insecurity, Anxiety, and Bonnie Holbrook

General Information:

• Joke
• 4/27/2019
• English
• USA, Dartmouth College

Informant Information:

• Johnathan J.
• 20 years old
• Grew up in Long Island, NY
• Studies Economics at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

• John said that he saw this meme on the Dartmouth Meme page a while ago and it appeared in his timeline because one of his friends “liked” the post. John said this meme format is popular on Instagram

Cultural Context:

• Mental health is a big topic of conversation among college campuses right now, as students deal with the stress of higher education among other negative feelings like anxiety and insecurity
• Bonnie Holbrook runs the Center for Professional Development (CPD) at Dartmouth College, which sends out a very large number of emails to students. The volume of emails seems intrusive and unwanted, much like the thoughts that accompany depression and anxiety.

Collectors: Colby Conner

Title: D-Plan vs. Summer Break

General Information:

• Joke
• 4/27/2019
• English
• USA, Dartmouth College

Informant Information:

• Elijah  Roth
• 20 years old
• Grew up in Los Angeles, CA
• Studies Economics at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

• Elijah said this meme was sent to him via text message from one of his friends at another school who was already out on summer break.

Cultural Context:

• The D-Plan is the structure used by Dartmouth College which is similar to the quarter system. As a result of this system, Dartmouth students do not get breaks at the same time as most schools, leading Dartmouth students to feel like they’re missing out on summer break studying while many of their friends are on vacation.
• Spongebob is a very popular children’s cartoon which makes it an extremely relatable base to use for a meme since many people are familiar with the characters and their personalities.

Title: Just Brand It

General Information:

• Pun
• 4/27/2019
• English
• USA, Dartmouth College

Informant Information:

• J.C. ‘19
• 21 years old
• Grew up in Los Angeles, CA
• Studies Economics at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

• J.C. said he found this meme on the Dartmouth Meme facebook group, “Dartmouth Memes for Cold AF Teens”.
• Everyone who attended Dartmouth during the alleged incident has since graduated, meaning current students only know about AD through word of mouth and think of it as a way of reflecting back on the past.
• Students interpret it different ways based on their experience at Dartmouth and their opinions on the Greek System.

Cultural Context:

• The fraternity Alpha Delta (AD) was derecognized on April 13th 2015 down due to allegations that the members were branding pledges.
• The film, “Animal House” released in 1978 was based off of Miller’s experiences and the antics he experienced during his time at Dartmouth.
• Chris Miller ‘63, a member of AD during his time at Dartmouth, co-wrote a screenplay entailing his experiences as a member of AD called “The Real Animal House: The Awesomely Depraved Saga of the Fraternity That Inspired the Movie”.

Collectors: Colby Conner

Title: Sneaky Tom

General Information:

• Verbal Art
• 4/27/2019
• English
• USA, Dartmouth College

Informant:

• Luke C. ‘20
• 20 years old
• Grew up in New York City, NY
• Studies Government at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

• At the time this meme was posted in 2017, the original meme was in its peak popularity.
• Luke said he saw the original image (without VOX Daily) used in other memes and thought it was a clever way to apply it to everyday Dartmouth student life in a way that other students could relate to it.
• Luke said that VOX Daily is one of the most unanimously experiences for students at Dartmouth. It’s one of the few things that everyone can relate to.

Cultural Context:

• The image in this meme comes from the popular children’s show called, Tom & Jerry. It comes from an episode which aired in 1950 called “Jerry and the Lion” where Tom (as shown) sneaks behind the door.
• Dartmouth has a hardcore academics culture where many students find themselves working into the early morning hours. Among students, it is common knowledge that VOX Daily are sent to every inbox at 1:01AM.

Quotes from the interview:

“For me, whenever I’m doing work late at night and have my headphones in and I get the ding at 1:00 AM when VOX Daily comes in and thought, ‘Oh it’s already 1:00 AM how did we get here? I still have so much left to do’.”

“I saw the original image and thought ‘That’s VOX Daily when it sneaks into your inbox at 1 in the morning in the depth of night.’ ”

Title: It Was Time For Thomas to Leave

General Information:

• Urban legend
• 4/27/2019
• English
• USA, Dartmouth College

Informant:

• Luke C. ‘20
• 20 years old
• Grew up in New York City, NY
• Studies Government at Dartmouth College

Contextual Data

Social Context:

• Luke discovered this meme on the Dartmouth meme group, Dartmouth Memes for Cold AF Teens.
• This is the most popular meme on the page.
• Luke said he thinks it captures the way people think about the greek system as a whole and the specific culture within the fraternity Theta Delta Chi (TDX) in general which is known for its parties.

Cultural Context:

• Thomas the Tank Engine is a character from a children’s cartoon, “Thomas & Friends”. It is very popular in the United States, and Thomas is typically shown smiling as depicted in the meme. The image comes from an episode of the show called “Thomas, Pecy, and the Coal” which aired in 1989.
• The original meme was first used in February of 2016 and has since received many variants.
• Theta Delta Chi (TDX) is a fraternity at Dartmouth College founded in 1869. Its alumni includes Robert Frost. It is known for being a social space where out-of-the-ordinary things happen and has garnered a reputation over the years.

Quotes from the interview:

“I had actually never been to TDX when I saw this meme I just thought about everyone talking about TDX as being a messy place where weird things happen.”

“We all hear a lot of people experience TDX scenes, the greek system as social space and this meme encapsulates a lot of the feelings people have about the greek spaces in a humorous way that’s relatable.”

Collectors: Colby Conner