HALIFAX, NS— Beginning this November, Faculty of History professor Dr. Patty Mongsen, long known for the use of humorous memes in her lectures, has taken to formatting her slides in the style of the image board website 4chan.
“Last year I found out some students were making fun of me for using old memes, like the picture of Arthur clenching his fist, or screencaps of Avengers: Infinity War. So I looked into what young people are posting online now. I found this website where, I’ll be honest, there is a lot of rather inappropriate content, but after combing through all of the boards full of incels and white supremacists, I found quite a lot of funny posts as well,” explained Dr. Mongsen.
Ben Hodges, a first year student in Dr. Mongsen’s class Western Europe From 1500 To 1700, said of the new lecture format, “I like how simple and to the point her lecture slides are, but the accompanying illustrations seem a little much.” His classmate Rebekah Jordan agreed, saying “I don’t like studying in the Killam anymore because when I open the lecture notes I’m worried people will see a frog cartoon on my laptop and think I’m someone who goes on Reddit.”
Less internet literate students, like James Poirier, a third-year, have been left feeling “completely lost” in the wake of Dr. Mongsen’s change. “Last year, Dr. Mongsen was using simple memes that anyone can understand. Clenched fist Arthur means frustration, the distorted SpongeBob one means mockery. I don’t understand what a line drawing of a frog in a hat is supposed to mean, even accompanied by a weird staccato baby talk caption.”
Dr. Mongsen says she’s aware of the criticism, but not going to stop making greentexts any time soon.
Article By Grace Brown, Published November 3rd, 2022