By Chris Altieri, Fall Intern

As a college student and consumer of social media, like many of my peers, I’m inundated with memes (those pictures with hilarious captions everyone forwards to each other). Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, blogs, even some news site, memes seem to be everywhere. Memes can be related to sports (McKayla Maroney Is Not Impressed), politics, and whatever hilarity and nerd-humor George Takei puts on his Facebook page.

Another category o memes that many of my friends and peers share are posts complaining about how much college costs. Take a look at this one:

Or perhaps this:

The meme sharing isn’t limited to my school. Check out this meme from Tufts University.

So why are we meme-ing?. My friends forward and repost them not just because they’re funny, but also because they’re relevant and true. A recent report found that a college degree today costs 12 times what it did in 1978! That’s 4 times the rate of inflation. To put this disparity in perspective, check out Young Invincibles’ infographic of what college costs now compared to our parents’ generation.

I know I’m very lucky to be able to attend college, but I’d also be willing to sacrifice the fancy student centers and impeccably green laws in exchange for lower tuition costs.   Memes are a way that many of my peers cope with the frustrating battle of the rising cost of college.  Working at YI, I’ve seen the political power of a good social media campaign.  But sometimes it’s important to take it a step further as well.  So let’s keep posting, but let’s also take action!