October 27, 2021

By Catie Polo

Graphic by Ava Horton

UPDATE: Since the publication of this article, the Instagram account @mizmissedconnections has changed ownership. The new owner is Maria Schneider.

Arguably one of the most interesting parts about MU are the unofficial Instagram accounts that pop  up over time. Each has their own take on comedy and uses their platform to spread positivity, highlight issues on campus or bring some lighthearted comedy onto students’ Instagram feeds. 

Camden Brazile started the account @themizzousnitch on Aug. 23rd, 2021 by posting a satire news story entitled “President Choi Worried Tightening Covid Restrictions Could Lead To Students Surviving School Year.” Brazile described the account as MU’s version of The Onion and formed the account as a way to reinvigorate the comedic aspect of the college experience.

“One thing I’ve struggled with a lot is how much is too far, because I do want to make fun of topical, prevalent things that are going on, but I genuinely don’t want to offend anybody,” Brazile said. “The biggest challenge has definitely been walking that line. I have to send a lot of things to my friends and be like ‘would people get mad about this?’ like ‘will this get the account shut down?’”

While some accounts choose to keep their identity 100% anonymous, Brazile chooses not to have his name attached to his account, but will not shy away from anyone who asks.

“It would be fun if it was [anonymous] because then I could make fun of anyone and anything with impunity, and no one would be able to just look at my name, and then find out where I live and come kill me,” Brazile said. “Which is always a good thing to have. But if anybody asks me, I’ll just tell them. I’m never going to use it for my own nefarious personal agenda. It is kind of fun to have been pulling the strings because a lot of people who I know that maybe even don’t like me in real life follow the account.”

@mizmissedconnections is run by Caroline Elik, who strives to keep the account as a positive place for students to give shoutouts, compliments and to try to connect with one another. Elik takes suggestions through a google form in the account’s bio and sorts through them herself to find the gems she wants to post on the account.

“It can be overwhelming, but also I don’t post on a set schedule or anything. I don’t really feel any pressure to post, which is nice,” Elik said. “Obviously I want to make people happy. And I want to post everybody’s missed connections, but also one thing that’s really nice about everybody that follows the account is I feel like they really understand that we’re all students and we’re all busy, and that includes myself. So if I need a day and I just don’t feel like posting and I need to do my homework I’ll just do that.”

The anonymous person that runs @mizzouchicks had the account passed down to them after they were encouraged to apply for the position by a friend. The individual has run this account, supported by  Barstool Sports, since June 2021.

“My favorite part has definitely been interacting with [followers], talking to them about what they want to [see] or having them just reach out to me,” Anonymous said. “I’ve had girls reach out to me and just vent about a boy that hurt their feelings or this Tinder date. ‘You wouldn’t believe what he said to me.’ Being able to form those interactions and be someone for the girls on campus who they know that they can rely on or get good advice from, that’s really been my favorite part of this.”

Edited by Shannon Worley | sworley@themaneater.com