A #TBT for Oregon State’s Class of 2016

A lot has happened in the last four years (maybe five years, if you took a victory lap) for Oregon State’s graduating Class of 2016. Friends have been gained, memories have been made, and a mass amount of knowledge has been driven into our brains. Amongst all of this transformation, there has been music, movies, and trends to come and go.

Back in 2012, when most students were moving into the dorms Gangnam Style by Psy was on the rise to the top of the charts. Almost every football game that season played the hit and if you didn’t know the dance, were you even a student at Oregon State? Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen and We Are Young by Fun. featuring Janelle Monae were also top hits during 2012. Throughout the next year, more songs came to rise including the catchy tune Thrift Shop by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and the infamous Harlem Shake by Baauer. During what we like to call the Harlem Shake phase, you could be walking through campus and suddenly the song would start out of virtually nowhere. Instantly, everyone around (typically those wearing strange costumes) would begin to slowly wiggle until the music changed and you know the rest.  Somewhere between sophomore and junior year, Iggy Azaela came to the scene with Fancy alongside the emergence of Meghan Trainor with her chart topping song All About That Bass. Down the road when you are sitting in your office cubicles or driving a mini van with your children screaming in the back, one of these songs will play on the radio as a “throwback” and will instantly remind you of your glory days at Oregon State. Hopefully, one of those songs will be Bruno Mars’ rendition of Uptown Funk or Trap Queen by Fetty Wap.

If you got a chance for a study break (we know you did), you may have watched a few movies or like most college students, you binged watched a few TV series’ on Netflix. Some of the most popular movies at the box office during the last few years have been Marvel’s The Avengers, The Hunger Games series, Frozen, American Sniper, and of course, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Netflix has been a hub for a college student’s procrastination. Orange Is the New Black, The Walking Dead, Trailer Park Boys, Friends, and Arrested Development could likely be the reasoning behind your sometimes less than stellar final grades.

Social media evolved during the last four years as well. Snapchat and Instagram took the limelight with their filters, celebrity accounts, and millions of users. Remember when the emoji keyboard made its first debut? Today the keyboard ranges from a unicorn to the “middle finger” and is available on most devices. Despite the technological advances, the Internet definitely has had its fair share of popular culture. “Twerking” took over social media during 2013 and while were talking about butts, Kim Kardashian broke the Internet in the following year with her Paper Magazine shoot. However, Kim wasn’t the only one breaking the Internet that year. During 2014 if you were online, there was no way you were escaping the Ice Bucket Challenge videos. Bill Gates’ version of the challenge racked in 20 million views and the ALS association raised $115 million to fight the disease throughout this craze of ice water.

Amid all of the ever-changing movements and trends, something’s will always remain the same. An Oregon State Alumni’s memories are often similar. Early morning’s rushing to Milam for class, an afternoon in the MU Quad, or a late night spent in the Valley Library. A packed Gill Coliseum, a roaring crowd in Reser Stadium, or a 7^th inning stretch in Goss Stadium will always be a favorite remembrance of past Beaver students. This will be no different for the Class of 2016. Once a Beaver, always a Beaver. Go Beavs!

Written by: Brittni Cooper