Winner: “Use the free masks to save the Tercero cows”
Early last November, Davis was hit with a gust of smoke that originated from Camp Fire in Butte County. For almost two weeks, the air quality index of the surrounding cities of Butte County had been deemed “unhealthy” by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The smoke had reached Davis right around the time the dreaded season of midterms crept its way in, sending students into a frenzy because of the health concerns of being on campus during this time.
Each morning students would lay in their beds checking the air quality index and praying for an early Thanksgiving break. As a result, the students of UC Davis banned together and created numerous memes regarding the fires. This year, the student body voted for “save the Tercero cows” as the featured meme of the year, with a N95 mask covering the nose of and iconic Davis cow.
Second year NPB major, Haris Terovic, prides himself as being an active member on the UC Davis Meme of Egghead Teens on Facebook. Terovic described what he think makes a meme.
“A meme is basically a startical image that makes a joke out of ironic or relatable events or moments,” Terovic said. “It could also be a funny picture that portrays a reaction or mood. I think irony is what makes a meme funny and more relatable.”
Terovic explained why “save the Tercero cows” was voted best meme.
“The Tercero cows are almost another mascot of Davis and has always been a fairly popular subject in Davis memes,” Terovic said. “When the fires happened, access to clean air was a concern and making a meme of masks for cows was an ironic way of bringing up a serious issue in a joking manner. In a way this meme was used almost as a funny way to bring up a real issue to a wider audience.”
Written by: Sneha Ramachandran — features@theaggie.org
