Subheading: The student-run Instagram profile admins explain their inspirations

Almost every UTSA student with an Instagram is aware of the multitude of UTSA related profiles created to highlight specific aspects of the school. From pictures of the campus squirrels to people sleeping and gnarly parking, these UTSA parody accounts serve as a reminder to the students to let loose and have fun. The anonymous owners of @utsaslumped, @utsabadparking and @utsaaffirmations weigh in on their unique perspective of UTSA they share with their followers.

The UTSA slumped page exhibits over 130 photos across 32 posts featuring sleepy students lounging across campus. The anonymous owner shared that his account was initially created to catch his friends on camera when they’re most vulnerable and to get a laugh. 

“My favorite part about owning my account was definitely being in a public place like the JPL and just hearing people wonder who is posting for UTSA slumped and where he is. The excitement they get when they’re looking all around the room is hilarious and it makes me want to continue,” he said.

Similarly, the UTSA bad parking page was created to put a smile on students’ faces. The nameless owner of the account claims that there are days when she receives as many as five to 10 crooked parking submissions. 

“What inspired me is all of the bad parking on campus, I have never seen so much bad parking, and I just thought, I HAVE to post this somewhere because it is just so funny and astonishing as to how bad people will park their car —  so I started the account,” she said. “The goal in creating it was honestly to make people laugh. I always laugh at myself when I park bad and I’m pretty sure other people laugh at themselves as well, so I just wanted to create an account where we could just all laugh at each other.”

The intention of the UTSA affirmations page is to speak or write desired actions into existence. For example, the most recent edited post displays a photo of people posed in front of desktop computers with a blue filter and text that reads the affirmation, “I will not fall asleep on zoom.” One of the admins from the account shared his inspiration for initiating the profile. 

“Around summertime, I started seeing these college affirmation posts pop up on my friends’ stories on Instagram. When I got to UTSA, I found out that our university didn’t have an active page yet, so I took the opportunity to make one and see how it would go. I actually used to take graphic design courses, so it was a good use of the skills I learned … I saw other universities make oddly specific affirmation posts, and I tried to replicate it but made it UTSA flavored,” he said.

All three accounts collectively boast over 5,000 followers and 87 posts, reaching nearly 15% of the student body at UTSA. The Slumped, Bad Parking and Affirmations accounts have each brought playful interactions to the UTSA student community and will continue to for as long as they continue to post.