Leaning against the Red Zone kiosk, smack dab in the middle of Vari Hall, I waited patiently for Mark Nguyen, the brains behind what has turned out to be a York-exclusive social media smash hit.
You’ve more than likely come across their videos, seen people wearing their swag around campus, or even witnessed the crew filming. With the full-blown campus presence, it’s no surprise that the social media video series Straight Outta YorkU has pulled in staggering numbers of views online.
What started as a simple Facebook account in the fall, has now turned into a bit of an overnight sensation.
My phone rang. We were scheduled to meet at Vari Hall at noon after a brief correspondence through Facebook. He never showed. I was stood up; left like a bad date, standing there holding my silver audio recorder and making uncomfortable eye contact with passersby.
“Bro, honestly man, the honest truth is I was totally asleep,” Nguyen explains to me over the phone. He was allegedly up all night preparing the next feature for Straight Outta YorkU.
All is forgiven of course, as I ended up getting the soft spoken and genuinely happy third-year business student in the Excalibur offices about four hours later. He lives just outside of campus and notes that he feels like York has been his home his entire life.
He’s careful with his words as he explains the story behind what is a surprisingly fast-moving internet presence.
“The page is about school spirit, but doing it in a more genuine way,” he says.
“It’s not saying we are the best school, or that our school has everything and we are great; it’s saying our school has flaws. We’re going to talk about them and we are going to make some jokes and build a community through it.”
Nguyen explains that his videos aren’t satire, but parodies. He notes the contrast between the community he hopes to build and the community the school is trying to build with their branding and advertising campaigns.
He hopes to speak the truth through comedy.
The videos, which if you haven’t seen yet, you should probably do so, are based off of some of the quips and stereotypes associated with York. One of the videos, which has garnered over 15,000 views is posted online with the caption, “If you can hold a fork…” and continues with a deep internal struggle in an interview of a prospective student attempting to hold a fork.
Of course it’s all in good fun, and other videos entitled “people you’ll meet waiting in line for the bus at York” are rooted in truth and are relatively harmless. If you were wondering, that video has picked up more than 10,000 views. Astounding numbers considering the size of York’s community.
“I love York. York is an amazing school,” says Nguyen. “I have a problem with people thinking it’s not a good school.”
“Obviously York has a lot of flaws, but so does every school. Sometimes we pay too much attention to those flaws. But when we can begin joking about those things and having a really open discussion and talking about the school, we can build school spirit and direct our attention to how great the school actually is.”
The everyday students featured in the videos are actually complete strangers that have been approached by the Straight Outta YorkU crew on campus. With a little convincing, Nguyen has been able to collaborate with endless community members and bring together new friends and fellow professionals.
“People reach out like that,” Nguyen says with a big smile and a snap of his fingers. “We hand off the script and organize everything, but everything else is just free-flowing. Drop in, film, and you get to see yourself in the video.”
Once filming has been completed, he explains that what ensues is a marathon of editing, with the entire process taking close to 15 hours.
It doesn’t stop there, as Nguyen has a bigger vision than a web series.
“We want to do improv nights, skits for different faculties, and large lip-dubs,” he says.
“Really, doing what the YFS is doing, but with a less bureaucratic approach. We don’t have restrictions, so it comes off as more natural, more friendly, and more genuine.”
“The YFS might hate us for some of the things we are going to say,” he says while laughing, “but it’s really about school spirit.”
After the dust clears and the likes, shares, and hits come in, he insists that the only real strain this experience has put on him is seen within his marks.
“I’m not worried, I’m really happy doing this,” he adds.
There might be a possibility that his business degree won’t be put towards business, as he could have possibly found his passion through video and comedy.
“I think I’m going to continue with it and maybe bring it to other universities that don’t have a video group like this. It brings everyone together, that could be a thing you’ll see.”
In the future, students can expect York U the Movie, the next installment from Straight Outta YorkU. The project is under wraps, but rumours are swirling that it’s a film inspired by the expectations that are often put onto students, with a very liberal voice.
Nguyen notes the immense positivity he’s experienced with this project, and while he has yet to hear from York administration, he expects them to chime in with their two cents once York U the Movie drops.
Until then, grab your fork and dig in.
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Michael Burton, Editor-In-Chief
Featured image courtesy of Giang Le
