Welcome to our new series, The School Dispatch! This column will spotlight different students from across the commonwealth, each edition giving someone the opportunity to share the good, bad, and the ugly of what’s going on in their school or district. From unique events, to new trends, to causes of complaint, this series will show readers what Kentucky’s schools look like from a student’s lens.

By Maggie Stone, duPont Manual High School

When I was in middle school, my classmates’ favorite source of drama was our grade’s Instagram meme accounts. These accounts, anonymously operated and ubiquitously followed, covered topics like crushes, fights, and gossip, publishing submissions from students sent via Instagram direct message, or DM. A post would typically include a screenshot, sometimes several, of such a message from a follower. Depending on the type of account, the message would name someone’s crush, news on the recent tween scandal, or a recording of the last big fight. This was our People magazine. 

Now, as a high schooler, these accounts are a lot less prominent. Some have been able to gain brief notoriety, making the rounds on students’ home feeds, but for the most part have burned fast and bright. Non-controversial account @dupont.almostfriday, our school’s “Almost Friday” page, which posts student-submitted pictures of their peers and teachers every Thursday and Friday, has been one of the only to gain lasting relevance. However, with the new cell-phone ban limiting the amount of content students are able to gather while in class, even this account has struggled to produce consistent posts. 

With a new gap in student’s Instagram feeds, it was about time someone took on the task of creating a new humor-focused account to act as the voice of the student body. On August 7, 2025, somebody did. 

@dupontmemeual’s first post didn’t gain much traction. The single photo featured an edited duPont Manual student ID, with the headshot swapped out for a screenshot from the school’s Wikipedia page and the name replaced with that of the Instagram account. Over the next few days, however, the account would continue to consistently post, each time boasting more likes. 

Some of these early posts included a “memeual fit maker”, a parody of a popular post format that gives viewers several options of dress and encourages them to pick one by commenting a certain combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. It referenced specific pieces of the Manual handbook, iconic outfits worn by our principal, and the school’s infamous roaches. This was one of the account’s first posts to collect over 100 likes, and generated conversation among students. 

Where the account really broke through, however, was with its “day in the life series”, which it began posting on August 18. These posts detailed the routine of a student in each of our school’s five magnets, playing on their common stereotypes. This is when I became a fan. Not only were these posts niche, showing some real research and detail, but they were actually funny. I dropped a follow after the Math, Science, and Technology (MST) post. 

Now, just two months after its creation, the account has over 600 followers, besting @dupont.almostfriday (totalling just over 600). They’ve produced an almost constant stream of content, some more successful than others, but most at least mildly funny. 

Accounts like this one can cause drama among students, but when reserved to light, humorous posts, they can be a great way of connecting a student body. They demonstrate how teens are finding new ways to unify and share campus-wide jokes in an era where a large portion of socialization occurs online. While student journalism can still be an important part of a campus environment, more accessible, shorter-form types of content like this often attract more people. I’m excited to see where @dupontmemual goes, and even more excited to discover the identity of the person behind the memes.