Written by Francisco Vera.
UCF Kitty, an Instagram account run by an anonymous 21-year-old student, comments on various issues they find aggravating around the UCF campus; issues ranging from too little parking to how the university is allocating its budget.
Through its content, conveyed by an AI text-to-speech and visuals of an orange kitten, this account has garnered the attention of thousands. Viewers have found comedic value in these videos, while also sharing the same grievances as UCF Kitty shares on their social media.
And what started as a way to address grievances towards how the university is run without jeopardizing their identity has turned into a social media movement.
When asked why they picked a kitten as the face of the account, they said, “…Using a cute kitten to publicly berate the decision makers of UCF is really funny to me, and I believe that is a large reason for my success. The comedic aspect of my videos balances out the aggressive/confident nature of my character…”
One video, which criticizes the school’s budgeting, has garnered a total of over 150k views and 12k shares. Showing that those at UCF are interested in what this orange kitten has to say.
Their goal is not popularity, but rather to spread awareness and to generate real change in an attempt to make the university a more enjoyable experience for current and future students.
“…As insignificant as it may seem, this discourse is incredibly important to obtaining change, at least in my opinion. Even at the individual, friend-to-friend level, having critical conversations can snowball into something way larger.”
The hope of spreading awareness for change on campus, combined with the possibility of increased social media growth, gave UCF Kitty an idea.
“[Another goal] is to reach 10,000 followers… Once I hit that goal, I plan on revealing my secret identity.”
Goal met or not, UCF Kitty is still beyond grateful for this institution’s student body. They have shown interest in the account’s content and have helped build up the platform so they can continue to speak on the issues that affect campus.
“I love the students here. You guys are some of the coolest people I have ever met, and I am so thankful to be a part of such a lovely student body. UCF Kitty, out!”
