There are many Instagram accounts not affiliated with PLNU that capture life here on campus, but none are as infamous as @Lomamemes. Run by an anonymous admin, Loma Memes is a well known IG page that satirizes the daily goings and big scandals on campus. With over 3k followers and a devoted fan base, it is a staple in many Loma students’ daily social media diet. The Point has been granted exclusive access to the admin and will be sitting down and asking the questions we’ve all had about the most incognito Loma student.
The Point: Can you reveal your year?
Loma Memes: Older than you. Unless you’re a senior. Then I guess not.
TP: Can you speak on why the Loma Memes admin stays anonymous?
LM: Didn’t anyone watch Hannah Montana? I just want the best of both worlds. I will say, I didn’t tell anyone for the first ~7 months of me finding out and running the account besides one of my best friends and my parents. And the funny thing is, my parents don’t even fully get what the account is. And my friend doesn’t even follow the account because they are ‘very particular about who they follow on Instagram’ and Loma Memes doesn’t make the cut. Too *mainstream* for them. I think they were the ones that really kept me humble. So may God bless them for that.
As time went on, I told a few more friends who acted as if I had taken off my wig and told them I actually was Hannah Montana. The reveal is always pretty fun for me. And when someone is really shocked and excited it affirms me a little bit more that this is a pretty cool job I’ve got. It also tells me that lots of people do get the memes and actually deem the page worthy of a follow. But I also can’t take credit for building the following—that was my predecessors.
TP: How were you approached to take over Loma Memes?
LM: I was sitting on the 3rd floor of Nicholson Commons couches–which was a crazy place for the former admin to make the reveal–when they dropped the bomb. I had to use every ounce of discipline I had to not scream incredibly loud. But my initial gasp at the identity reveal was probably heard all the way down in the ARC. And then they told me they wanted to give me the account. I never in a million years thought that I would be given such a crazy honor. I started making memes for LM my freshman year just because I thought they were fun. It didn’t ever occur to me that I may be running it one day. If you look hard enough though, you might be able to find a hint or two about who I am in some old posts.
I have to give credit where credit is due though to my Meme Elders. They were the ones who built the account and cemented the legacy of LM. It’s an honor to join the ranks as a meme admin considering there were such hilarious and brilliant individuals who walked before me. So thank you, Meme Elders, for entrusting me with this absolutely crazy honor.
TP: Do you ever get DMs from people you know that don’t know it’s you?
LM: This happens SO much. I have dear friends of mine who have talked about ME in DMs to the account. But that’s probably because I take a lot of inspiration for the memes from my personal life so my friends will think of me. One time, I was sitting behind a coworker who had DMed the account that day. So obviously I decided to message her back right then so I could see her reaction. I watched her open the message, laugh, respond, and then turn around and start talking to me again. It was hilarious.
One person who DMs me all the time and is quite obsessed with figuring out my identity came into my work the other day and I was having the hardest time keeping my composure while talking to them because the irony was insane. They tipped me though so I may have to tell them who I am at the end of the year just for that. Or maybe they’ll put it together while reading this. I kind of hope they do.
I’ve been in group chats where posts are sent and everyone’s talking about it and laughing. I’ve also been in a lot of casual conversations with people about it. The irony sometimes is too much for me. It’s pretty freeing for me to get to share these instances on here because usually it’s just me internally freaking out and not being able to tell anyone the sheer irony of these crazy interactions. The thought ‘If only they knew’ has come to my mind more than a few times. But I think it’s been a good lesson for me in self-control and keeping myself grounded. In this role, I didn’t want to prioritize my own self-glorification. Instead, I decided my goal through all this is to let the joy of knowing I get to take part in being a source of laughter for so many people, be enough.
TP: Have any teachers or administrators ever reached out to you asking for meme removal, or worse, meme suggestions?
LM: All of the above. I’ve had some crazy conversations. It’s been interesting because I’ve had both pleasant and unpleasant interactions over DMs that have been the opposite of my experience with that person in real life.
TP: Have you ever gotten in trouble or ridiculed for any of your memes?
LM: Yes, but I get it. I really try not to make fun of any students because I never want to encourage capitalizing on someone’s embarrassment. But once I poked fun at a bizarre email that went to the whole school, which is typically something I would meme about, and I had no idea that it connected back to a student. The slew of hate comments and completely aggressive behavior in the aftermath of this post had me taken aback. But, while it is just a meme account, I understand that I have a lot of influence, so if my meme was embarrassing or hurting someone, I will of course take it down. And I did, once someone was able to communicate the issue to me in a rational way. But it really showed me that a few people, who I had actually respected before because I’d interacted with them in person, were not people that I respected for much longer based on how malicious their behavior was.
TP: What is the secret formula for choosing which school events or scandals to cover?
LM: I’m dying to meme something other than the caf and chapel so if anything ELSE happens, I’m all over it. But oftentimes the more niche jokes about less well-known situations don’t do quite as well as the more basic ones that everyone can relate to. It’s a give and take. But between you and me, the more niche ones are my favorite.
TP: What is your favorite meme you have created?
LM: I loved making the ones from the beginning of the year where we made up rumors about campus to perpetuate to the freshman. I was giggling so bad behind my phone trying to come up with wild conspiracies to say. My favorite one that someone came up with was that if people are caught having sex on campus they put them on trial during Timeout. Classic.
TP: Has anyone ever attempted to unmask your true identity?
LM: It happens at least once a week.
TP: How close has someone gotten?
LM: If someone is hot on my trail and guesses correctly, I will at first deny, but since I’m so close to graduation, I have confirmed it if someone has worked hard to uncover me. And if they’ve been cool and nice over DM. I used to be really paranoid about people finding out. I even had a nightmare about it once which is completely embarrassing because it’s just memes–it’s not that deep.
It gets pretty exhausting after a while though having to harbor such a big secret and to constantly keep track of the information you reveal that could connect you back to your other identity. I’ve been pretty involved in the Loma community where I’ve interacted with all levels of leadership and knowing that these are people I’ve talked with in both forms of myself, it can get confusing. So it’ll definitely be a relief when I don’t have to panic anymore about accidentally posting a selfie on the Loma Memes story. Or accidentally posting content meant for the other Loma account that I run.
TP: Do you have any parting comments for readers?
LM: Thanks for letting me giggle behind my phone screen for a year and be the Walmart version of Gossip Girl. It’s been a pleasure to laugh with you all. The account is in good hands…
‘Till next time. XOXO, Loma Memes
