As The New School community enters the second day of the SENS-UAW Local 7902 strike, many are turning to satire to highlight the irony of TNS experiencing its second strike in two years. Memes are already circulating online about the situation from several different sources.
A new rival media presence emerged amongst the online chatter. A parody of the New School Free Press launched on Instagram ahead of the strike.
The account, named “New School Captive Press,” posted their breakout “article” headlined, “Academic Student Workers at The New School Rehearse Dance Number in Preparation For Strike.”
The popular @tnsaffirmations page on Instagram has also brought attention to the strike in its most recent weekly compilation of ironic and humorous meme style “affirmations.”
Some of last Wednesday’s affirmations read, “I am no longer surprised at the admin’s inability to learn from their mistakes,” and “I can mentally handle another strike,” a sentiment which resonated with many members of the community, with the post garnering nearly 600 likes.
“I mean it’s just such a train wreck,” Parsons School of Design senior Meg Brill said. “But all you can do is laugh at how ridiculous it’s been. In fact, if I wasn’t laughing about it, I would be upset.”
Brill noted that the noise online has not only maintained a cheerful vibe in a time of distress, but kept students informed. “I get a lot of my news from the internet. And if I think about it too long it does get depressing,” they said, but noted that they don’t know how else they would learn.
@TNSaffirmations has also shared resources, including a link to the donation page for the New Student Workers Union solidarity strike fund, and in its most recent post tagged SENS’ account, which shares information and updates on bargaining and their picketing schedule.
For Parsons senior Emme Oliver, using online humor to cope with the strike has brought forth a sense of community they haven’t felt before.
“Laughter’s like a very universal thing, I do think the fact that you can get online and joke around with people who go to your school that you don’t even know, kind of has that unifying theme of like, ‘Hey, we’re in the same situation’,” they said.
Oliver said the collective use of humor in response to external distress was an effective way to alleviate factors outside of students’ control.
“We can’t control the fact that the school’s on strike. What we can do is control… how we mentally handle this. And I think that includes joking about it with your friends,” they said.