Spring Break
Cat ears and sporks spark discussion about individuality
Whitney Harding, Contributing Writer, wharding@smu.edu
Issue date: 5/1/07 Section: News
"I put a post on the discussion board that said, 'Yeah that's so weird what's with her?'" she said. "They made me an officer and my title was 'I am the spork girl and I will be more than happy to answer any of your questions.'"
Nguyen had a similar encounter on Facebook. He said his roommate broke the news to him one day that some stranger had created a Facebook group called, "I want to know why that Asian kid always wears cat ears." Nguyen is not sure if the members of the group know his name, but some of his friends did join.
"They have sightings of me," said Nguyen. "They make up stories about what I was doing, like I was sitting at the end of the hallway licking myself or playing with a ball of yarn."
Sophomore Jared Caraway said he created the Facebook group because Nguyen's eccentricity was fascinating. Caraway also said speculation about why Nguyen wears the ears is half the fun.
"It's kind of like something that you want to know why he does it, but it is also fun to come up with your own interpretation," Caraway said. "You just don't see people go out of their way to put on cat ears."
So what is the reason? Nguyen said one of his best friends in high school wore them and persuaded him to wear them once or twice.
"We went to Gameworks at Grapevine Mall and I wore them all day," he said. "It's just fun!"
Wesolowski has a more in-depth explanation abut her spork. She is a member of an online community where people write stories about their favorite movies, books or television shows. They post these stories, called fan-fiction, online and people comment on them. Many of these authors write stories with "Mary-Sue" characters.
"They have no flaws and they just whine about how bad their lives are," she said. "In these communities, it is said that the spork is the best weapon against them."
Wesolowski's fame isn't just at SMU. She said that people at her high school still talk about the "spork girl." People on other college campuses know her as well. Wesolowski remembers a conversation with a student from Texas A&M.
Nguyen had a similar encounter on Facebook. He said his roommate broke the news to him one day that some stranger had created a Facebook group called, "I want to know why that Asian kid always wears cat ears." Nguyen is not sure if the members of the group know his name, but some of his friends did join.
"They have sightings of me," said Nguyen. "They make up stories about what I was doing, like I was sitting at the end of the hallway licking myself or playing with a ball of yarn."
Sophomore Jared Caraway said he created the Facebook group because Nguyen's eccentricity was fascinating. Caraway also said speculation about why Nguyen wears the ears is half the fun.
"It's kind of like something that you want to know why he does it, but it is also fun to come up with your own interpretation," Caraway said. "You just don't see people go out of their way to put on cat ears."
So what is the reason? Nguyen said one of his best friends in high school wore them and persuaded him to wear them once or twice.
"We went to Gameworks at Grapevine Mall and I wore them all day," he said. "It's just fun!"
Wesolowski has a more in-depth explanation abut her spork. She is a member of an online community where people write stories about their favorite movies, books or television shows. They post these stories, called fan-fiction, online and people comment on them. Many of these authors write stories with "Mary-Sue" characters.
"They have no flaws and they just whine about how bad their lives are," she said. "In these communities, it is said that the spork is the best weapon against them."
Wesolowski's fame isn't just at SMU. She said that people at her high school still talk about the "spork girl." People on other college campuses know her as well. Wesolowski remembers a conversation with a student from Texas A&M.
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