By Mackenzie Clark
If you frequently sleep in the hallways or hang out in the Fountain Square, you may unknowingly become an instant campus celebrity.
Two female sophomores are behind the Twitter account @JCCCProbs, which has more than 250 followers since its inception at the beginning of September. The creators of the account did not want to share their names.
The first creator said she noticed tweets from other schools such as KU and Wichita State University and started using the hashtag “#JCCCprobs.” After asking some friends their opinions, she decided to create the account and then invited a friend to participate. (See some highlights of @JCCCProbs’ tweets and retweets here.)
“All I’m taking is stuff that people are actually saying about this school and I’m just putting it all in one place,” the account creator said. “I’m not asking people to say these things, I’m mainly retweeting everybody. So it’s stuff that they would have said whether I had this account or not.”
Tweet topics range anywhere from rolling backpacks and longboarding to photos of students sleeping outside classrooms. The women said they are not “making fun of anybody,” and they try to hold content to certain standards.
“People tweet us a ton of pictures, but if it’s a straight-on face shot I won’t put it up,” the creator said. “I find that really rude.”
Both accountholders agreed if anyone ever complained about something they tweeted they would “absolutely” take it down, but so far the response has been good and they have not received any complaints.
“I think it’s a way for students to bond, for people with the same interests on campus to bond, because when you walk around campus there’s some weird things that go on,” said freshman Jacop Freitag. “It’s pretty hard to find a lot of friends, or people you know or relate to on campus, so I think it’s a way for people just to connect with other people who may see something the same way.”
Freitag said he is not offended by any of @JCCCProbs’ tweets.
“I find it entertaining, and part of it’s weird but I can relate to it because everything they post, I see the same stuff every day,” he said.
Asked his opinion of the account, student Seth Kern tweeted, “#IllMarryIt [sic].”
Last November an account with the username @JCCCProblems was created but the women in charge of @JCCCProbs said they did not create that one. (See @JCCCProblems’ tweets here.)
The women said they do not target anyone specific with their tweets and try to be sensitive about what they post. However, sometimes identifiable descriptions of various people are posted.
“We make fun of ourselves, too,” the creator said, citing a time when someone tweeted about her and she reposted it.
Although the women said they don’t feel they have violated any policy nor done anything punishable, they are concerned about making their identities known.
“I’ve been waiting to get a tap on the shoulder,” the second accountholder said.
The two said in the future if they have to take down the account they will, but “right now it’s just fun,” the creator said.
Contact Mackenzie Clark, editor-in-chief, at mclark68@jccc.edu.