Meet USC Meme Queens, Megan Andersen and Elise Vondra

‘If anyone is able to recruit Sam Darnold to the page, we will make them an admin’

Not all heroes wear capes. In fact, two have been walking silently among us since fall semester began. Megan Andersen and Elise Vondra, current freshmen, are the masterminds behind the newest phenomenon among USC students: the Facebook group called USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens.

Within a month of its creation, the group has gained almost 3,000 members who now have access to a continuously updating stream of USC-related comedy. Popular meme topics include, but are not limited to: the academic rigor of the school, USC football and bashing UCLA. Anyone can contribute memes to the group, and for the most part Andersen and Vondra let their audience take the wheel when it comes to generating content. Currently, their main role lies in moderating the page.

I recently had the chance to interview the duo and learn more about their experiences at USC, their senses of humor, and most importantly, their rise to internet power.

What is your major and what are you looking to do with that in the future?

Elise: I started off the year as biology, but am now switching into biomedical engineering. I hope to work in the medical field, specifically cardiology, whether it be as a doctor or behind the scenes designing medical devices like heart pumps.  

Megan: It’s funny because I also started off as biochemistry and am planning to switch to biomedical engineering. I’m a little less clear on what I want to do specifically, but I think tissue engineering, like tissue regeneration, is a subfield that I find especially interesting and one where I could see myself working.

What was the best part of your first semester at USC? What was the worst?

M: Best is mostly definitely USC football’s miraculous rise to greatness. Worst was when I got sick for about 2 and a half weeks, but that’s sort of part of the freshman experience.

E: The best part of my semester at USC was meeting all the passionate people that make SC so special and watching our team go to the Rose Bowl. The worst part was accidentally melting the magnetic strip off my ID card and being locked out of my room/not being able to swipe into the dining halls for 36 hours. PSA: air freshener liquid is a solvent for USCards.

How did you guys meet?

M: We happened to sit next to each other in the same bio lab, and epically failed when Elise killed all our beetles on the formal lab.

E: It wasn’t entirely my fault, but I knew we would be good friends when Megan could laugh it off and not kill me.

M: It’s hilarious to read over our first chats because Elise pretended to like so many TV shows. She doesn’t watch, like, Friends.

E: Sorry for wanting to make friends.

Megan Andersen and Elise Vondra

How did the idea for USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens come about?

E: It all started when I added Megan on UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens and we started tagging each other in everything.

M: We threw around the idea of making a USC version.

E: We knew we would be kicking ourselves if someone made the page before us.

M: We were going to start it spring semester after finals, but I’m such a procrastinator that I made it anyway.

How did you come up with the name of the group?

E: We decided to do a play on USC standing for “University of Spoiled Children”.

M: And Pre-Teens are funnier than children.

E: They’re the epitome of spoiled, if you think about it.

Do you have a favorite meme on the page?

M: Our favorite memes involve Max Browne. Also, if anyone is able to recruit Sam Darnold to the page we will make them an admin.

E: Megan and I are pretty much the same person, and it reflects in our meme tastes.  Also shoutout to Jason Ge, that’s a dank meme.

Do you have a favorite meme in general?

M: Either that one or the Norcal starter pack from the UCLA Memes page.

E: Megan is hella Norcal.

M: It rubs off.

 

E: I don’t know why but this meme will always get me.

Do you have any comedic inspirations?

M: Not necessarily for memes, but I’m a huge fan of John Mulaney, Amy Poehler and John Oliver.

E: I love USC alumni Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney for videos/acting, and I am a fan of Mike Birbiglia for stand up.

If you could describe your college experience thus far through a movie, what movie would it be?

M: Inception. It’s been crazy and I’m often not really sure what’s going on, but I love it.

E: Cabin in the Woods. It was pretty average up until halfway into the semester when I found my groove.  Then it became interesting and crazy.

On a more serious note, not everyone in the group has always had a positive reaction to the kind of humor posted. What is your stance on censorship within the page? Is there a line to be drawn with memes?

M: We’ve actually talked about this quite a bit, especially since the same kind of conversation came up on the Berkeley page. Personally, I’m not really for censorship so I lean towards letting everything stay, especially since memes are supposed to be a bit ‘edgy.’ On the other hand, some jokes that target specific groups may go too far, and we plan to moderate those accordingly.

E: There is definitely a line to be drawn with memes, but the line is blurry and in a different place for everyone. However, meme pages, and memes in general, are a unique form of comedy. Part of humor and ‘edgy memes’ is shock value, and coming close to crossing the line. There are over 2,500 people on our page, and we cannot be accountable for everyone’s feelings. That being said, there are some things that are absolutely not tolerated on the page. We are extremely lucky that response to the page has overall been very positive.


Check out Megan and Elise’s group USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens on Facebook. 

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