By Evelynn Schoenthal
The beginning of the school year signals a revitalization of niche GW meme pages that went inactive over the summer. One account, @gwu.crushes, is especially excited to begin this new year, as their anonymous Google Form is quickly filling with submissions.
The Instagram account, inspired by one for Virginia Commonwealth University, collects submissions of Google Forms in its bio, allowing anyone to submit a name or description that gets their heart racing. Each post features ten submissions from GW students about other students they find interesting or cute.
I had the chance to talk with the account’s owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, about why she made the account.
“I made the account because GW doesn’t have a lot of unity as a city campus,” she said. “You see people you know, but you’re never like ‘Oh I’m gonna go to the football game,’ and so I figured this is a funny way to create a buzz and something people can talk about.”
GW’s campus of 13,980 undergraduates offers unique experiences due to its proximity to the National Mall and the Capitol Building, but many students miss the feeling of traditional campus unity. @gwu.crushes is bridging the gap between students by giving them a platform to bond with peers they are unsure how to approach otherwise. It has also created the buzz that the owner intended.
“I’ve been in class and someone in front of me was talking about the guy that they liked had been posted on my account, but they weren’t the ones who submitted him. They were like, ‘gate keep this man!’ I laugh because I try to keep my anonymity, but I’m happy it’s unifying people,” @gwu.crushes said
The account is a beacon of positivity on GW’s campus, and the owner looks towards the future of the account and ways to improve.
“I took a break over the summer because I wasn’t on my phone a ton. I try to be as accessible as possible in case people want to be taken down. There have been times where I get a DM asking me to take someone who was featured down for various reasons, and I do, no questions asked. It’s a safe space and now I can focus on the account again,” she said.
@gwu.crushes is meant to uplift others and let people shoot their shots. Students look forward to posts to see if they have been lucky enough to be tagged, and, if they are, they spark conversations about who their secret admirer is.
Sophomore Ini Efiom-Ekaha was included in the account’s most recent post. She said she was honored to be mentioned.
“Honestly, I was having a tough week, so hearing that someone thought I was cute boosted my ego,” Ini said. “I would be down to get to know the person who submitted me if they ever reached out.”
If you spot a cutie in your class this semester, take a chance and submit them! @gwu.crushes DMs are always open.
