It’s finals season, and high school students across the country are cramming the only way they know how: By making bets with teachers that if they get a certain number of retweets, their final will be canceled.
Yes, the latest teen Twitter trend involves retweets, handshakes, and flimsy social media deals. Andrew Muennink, a senior at Round Rock High School in Round Rock, Texas, was apparently the patient zero for this stunt. On May 7, he posited that if he got 15,000 retweets by noon on May 23, his teacher would cancel their art final.
15,000 retweets and no art final. PLEASE RETWEET. pic.twitter.com/L9WlZFSkQI
— Total Drew Move™ (@Two_Drew2) May 7, 2014
Despite the fact that this is an art final we’re talking about, he of course got 15,000 retweets. These are the causes the Internet loves to get behind. Then teen Twitter jumped on the trend, as several photos of students making similar “deals” surfaced.
15,000 retweets and me, @your_daddy9 & @Jeff_Tromans won’t have to do our English final 😂🙏 pic.twitter.com/V9TR2R6Skg
— Lex ♛♡ (@xo_lexibbby) May 9, 2014
If we get 15,000 retweets we don’t have to take the chemistry final. pic.twitter.com/ofzNhIBkDy
— matt standley (@mattstandley) May 7, 2014
15,000 retweets, No english final 😂 pic.twitter.com/XR3HjpZxh2
— Ж (@QueniaKardash_) May 8, 2014
if we get 5,000 retweets, no Julius Caesar final! EVERYONE RT PLEASE. pic.twitter.com/Qv0LN1aZDA
— KAAYY.WOODD (@katelynwood27) May 7, 2014
It’s interesting to see how super casual the relationship between students and teachers has become. Muennink told ABC News, “I think [other schools] should [do this] because it’s really cool how Twitter can be an influence.”
While Twitter can indeed be used for influence, this brave new social media pact doesn’t fly in real life. In an official statement, Round Rock Independent School District spokeswoman JoyLynn Occhiuzzi said:
“We are very disappointed in the fact that abcnews.com did not do any fact checking regarding the Round Rock High School exam story. Our local media is committed to working with us to ensure responsible journalism. The art students at Round Rock HIgh School will be taking their final exams at the end of the month.”
Harsh! There’s no evidence that any other teachers followed through on their pacts. Hopefully Muennink continues to develop that entrepreneurial spirit in college, though. He’s already attempting to dismantle the shadowy public school PR industry, but what if this Twitter stunt was basically a form of meta performance art. What if it was his final?
Why is the school lying and saying it was a joke? It’s not a hoax? A deal is damn deal!!!!! Let’s get it done!!
— Total Drew Move™ (@Two_Drew2) May 10, 2014
I’m so pissed that @RoundRockISD is lying to reporters saying that it was a joke? Stop lying to the media to cover your asses!!
— Total Drew Move™ (@Two_Drew2) May 10, 2014
H/T Business Insider | Photo via Total Drew Move/Twitter