Were you that freshman walking onto campus knowing absolutely no one? Wondering when (or even if) you would make friends? Well this year the vast majority of the Class of 2015 felt no such qualms. The Class of 2015 Facebook page, perhaps the most active in the history of Tufts, allowed friendships to be created way before the new class of Jumbos stepped foot in campus. Over fifteen hundred freshman joined this group, but few rose through the ranks to become…the Facebook celebrities.
Now, upperclassmen probably have no idea what I am talking about (and our interviewees will clarify later) but you freshman know who I’m talking about: Andrew MacMaster, Graham Starr, Fay Syed-Ali, Priscilla de Varona, Harish D. Gupta. Tufts’ very own A-list. And so I sat down with two of these Facebook celebrities, Graham Starr and Andrew MacMaster to talk about the phenomenon, Tufts, and general randomness in the Rapid-Fire round.
So explain the Facebook phenomenon to any upperclassmen who don’t know the Facebook celebrities.
Graham Starr: We have superpowers and we threaten to use them for evil if people don’t like us. And we blackmail.
Andrew MacMaster: Don’t tell them that!
GS: Fine. But we’ve got charisma. 150% charisma.
AM: I’d say more like 147%. We are’t up to that 150% mark yet.
GS: True, 147%. But in all seriousness, we wanted to make college come to people before we came to campus. And we wanted to eliminate the awkwardness of the first few days. Andrew, Fay, Harish and I were all made moderators of the 2015 page and were told to keep the group alive. I think we did that.
(Graham Starr)
AM: We also talk a lot. And have an obnoxious amount of free-time.
Why do you think the freshman class is so obsessed with the Facebook celebrities?
GS: I guess they know us. They don’t know other people here and then recognize us on the first few days.
AM: Someone came up to me and wanted me to sign a five-dollar bill. I think it was a bet. After I did they ran away screaming.
What are your favorite Facebook moments?
GS: I got rid of a troll in twelve minutes. He started posting and it took me six seconds to notice he was trolling. Then it took me twelve minutes to get him to oust himself from the group, which was impressive for me because I’m good with dealing with trolls but [with that time] I was proud of myself.
AM: Graham Starr, professional troll wrangler.
GS: I slept through most of the other trolls. Unfortunately. Because over the summer I was sleeping from like 6am to 6pm, when like all the good stuff was happening.
AM: The overnight stuff was fun. I guess for me, one time I said, not even on the group, but on my wall, that I’m going to my aunt’s house for three days and I probably won’t have internet. So I do go to my aunt’s house, and it turns out I do have internet and I also have 107 notifications. Keep in mind this was a two hour car ride. Over the course of two hours I had over a hundred notifications. I think it was Priscilla (de Varona). Priscilla spearheaded a movement to go on my wall and post like a dozen things, each, and then “like” everything on my wall.
GS: Then Cameron Seitzman in response commented something on Priscilla’s wall: just “NOPE.”
AM: And then we all started…
GS: So I posted “NOPE” because I thought it was funny.
AM: And then I just decided to turn it into a thing…Priscilla and I, I think we are still embroiled in a war.
How did you guys meet online and then decide to become roommates?
GS: Well, we met in New York. We live like 40 minutes away so it wan’t like a big deal. Andrew came to a couple of my environmental meetings.
Describe each other in 3 words or less.
(Andrew MacMaster)
AM: Graham is a Starr…star spelled with two “r”s
GS: That’s just literal. Three words or less?
AM (still trying out three word phrases): Pineapple. Really? No.
GS: Really likes cats.
AM (laughs): Its true, I am fond of cats. There is this video of a cat. And it’s body is a Poptart, and it streams rainbows while flying through space.
Now it’s time for Rapid-Fire questions.
Dewick or Carmichael?
* AM: Dewick
* GS: Yeah, Dewick
Uphill or Downhill?
* Simultaneous: Downhill
Rez Quad or Academic Quad?
* Simultaneous: Rez Quad
US or Foreign?
* AM: US
* GS: Uhhh, foreign
Coke or Pepsi?
* AM: Coke
* GS: Heroin
Black or White?
* AM: Purple
* GS: Green
Palin or Bachmann?
* AM: Yes
* GS: Jon Huntsman
Vanilla or Chocolate?
* GS: Strawberry
* AM: Yeah, I like Strawberry. Or Rocky Road.
Davis square or Harvard Square?
* GS: Davis
* AM: Davis
Take the Joey or Walk?
* GS: Walk
* AM: Joey, I’m lazy.
Burger King or McDonald’s?
* AM: McDonald’s
* GS: Don’t like fast food
Summer or Winter?
* Simultaneous: Winter
Stewart or Colbert?
* AM: Colbert
* GS: Stewart
Mac or PC?
* AM: PC
* GS: Mac
Brown or Blue?
* AM: Blue
* GS: Tufts.
* AM: That’s not a color. That doesn’t even fall in the same category.
* GS: How about just Yes. Brown or Blue? Yes.
* AM: Hey! That was my Palin answer.
Part 2 coming soon!
Photo Credits: Facebook
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