Who is @crumbuniversity?
It’s a more complicated question than their identity. The @crumbuniversity handle on Instagram has about 2,000 followers. It is an anonymous account known for posting about campus life, as well as controversy. That 2,000 (out of a campus population of 7000) includes students, faculty, many clubs and even some official organizations on campus.
It was only recently that they began to realize the account’s popularity. Even still, it’s rare for them to be recognized in public. More often they get shown their own account without people knowing. Their status as a semi-celebrity still hasn’t really clicked.
But there are two @crumbs. The account and the person.
@crumb -the account- often finds itself riding a fine line between comedy and activism. @crumb’s persona is that of an observant and sarcastic college student, one that posts memes about finals week and campus issues. They also often repost flyers for campus events, or promote awareness for services like Basic Needs. Their memes are what they are most popular for, and what typically receive the most likes.
For the person behind @crumb, the account is a personal project even their family knows about. As a design major, it’s something they’re happy to put on a resume someday. They’ve dabbled in social media before, including a previous version of @crumb that they quit because it was too much work. Maybe it’s this that makes @crumb stand out among a sea of other novelty accounts. @crumb’s popularity can be attributed to a lot of things, but most of all a knack for capturing just the right moment at just the right time.
But they never expected @crumb to be this big. For them the account was just something silly, a way to post on the fly. “Sometimes I plan [the posts] ahead funny, but other times it’s like, I just want to be kind of stupid,” said @crumb. “I feel like it has to be a mix of funny, and oh, like, let’s talk about it.“
And although they know they have a somewhat large following, that hasn’t really clicked. According to @crumb, they still post like they only have 50 followers, even as their account grows steadily.
“[Having so many followers] is what freaks me out, because (MB) confess is the big one but like, all the alumni still follow it. I feel like with @crumb everyone is still here, you know? It’s freaky.”
The memes normally include an element of awareness, “I try to put the activism in the memes,” said @crumb.
One of their most popular memes was about Gladys, a worker at the Seastore widely appreciated by students for her kind demeanor.That meme tapped into a love the campus population already felt for Gladys.
“I think definitely the Gladys one did really well, campus wise it was really positive,” said @crumb. “I’m really proud of that.”
But the content of @crumb changed for a time last spring, when the account posted a video of the vandalized “Otters4Life” statue amidst extreme anger toward the university and housing office from students.
@crumb was sent the video, which they then posted. The video was caught by KSBW and circulated across social media while the university was still formulating a response.
“It gets posted and then everyone starts texting me. I see it on Reddit, people just say ‘it’s on @crumb,’ and then suddenly a news outlet is messaging me., KSBW, they still follow me,” said recounted @crumb. “They were like, ‘can we use this video? Do you have the rights?’ I asked the person and they were like, ‘yeah, you can use it.’” KSBW still follows them on instagram.
When asked, the University had no official comment on @crumb and that they had no one officially keeping an eye on what the account posted. Associated Students had a similar response.
This doesn’t take away from the impact @crumb has had on their target audience: students. As an informal institution, they often discuss stories that the university cannot. Even at the Lutrinae, the otter statue vandalism story broke for us first through @crumb’s posting.
The statue post netted them a large chunk of their followers, making @crumb an important vessel for the housing discussion during a critical time on campus. The post does not have the most likes of any of @crumb’s, but it by far had the most discussion. Over 58 comments later and 4000 shares later, thousands more than any other post, the comment section was filled with concerned students and alumni, even former employees eager to share their own experiences in the CSUMB Property Management Office.
Since @crumb has continued to fill the role of being an unofficial campus resource. They often receive direct messages (dms) on Instagram from people who aren’t enrolled yet asking about the school. A lot of times, students will just dm them with issues they are having, many never get posted. It’s a difficult role, but one @crumb isn’t bothered filling. They see it as part of being a resource for students.
“If [new students] have a question about someone on campus, they usually ask @crumb first. I feel bad sometimes when I don’t have the resources, but I am just an Instagram account.”
For many on campus, @crumb is a net positive. But with popularity comes controversy. Not everyone appreciates the lack of accountability and oversight that comes with an anonymous account. More recently, they were asked to take down a post involving a delicate housing situation in North Quad when the original poster was worried their roommate might see.
“It’s a good informal source of community and information peer wise, but I feel like there’s no responsibility to get information correct, which can create unintentional false narratives at things going on on the university level,” said Associated Students Vice President of University Affairs Jasmine Torres. “@crumb needs to find their footing on what type of account they wanna be, do they wanna be a meme account that shares jokes and awareness of campus events, or do they wanna be a source of informal information for students, sharing news and opinions on campus?”
@crumb is aware of this criticism, but thinks the account ultimately does more good than harm.
“At the end of the day, (the account) is still so more people know what’s going on. If you don’t like the way that it’s being communicated, that’s fine. Maybe I don’t check my sources, that’s fine. But I want more people to know (about issues), because a good chunk of people know about this page,” said @crumb.
They even think the account might be something valuable for all campuses, of course in an unofficial capacity. “I think that would be something really cool that all campuses could have, especially if they’re small. A lot of my friends are commuters, and they’re like, I know everything from your page, I don’t know anything else.”
“I don’t think it should be official with the school because then it’s not charming. It’s not charming and maybe I have to get something checked before I post it. I’m just a person. I’m not a corporation. I wouldn’t want the page to be seen as a part of the school. I want it to be unaffiliated. I think that’s a big part of what makes it so real.”
So, who is @crumbuniversity? In a way the account is a reflection of campus, posting about the issues which matter most to us. @crumb – the person – is simply a vessel for that reflection, someone funny and informed who is often tapped into what’s happening on campus.
As for their identity, it’s becoming more and more of an open secret. Many of their friends know, and @crumb has been much more open about posting photos that could reveal their location. They even admit their cat has been visible on the @crumb page.
“I’m thinking about revealing after I graduate,” said @crumb. “I’m not sure if I should wait ‘til I actually receive my diploma. Maybe I will. I don’t know if it would get me in trouble with the school.”
For now, all we have are bread-crumbs.