A video was posted on social media TikTok, with the explanation, “Just before the final exam, the midnight scene of UCSD (University of California San Diego).” The video vividly showed students screaming from all over the place, along with scenes that illuminated the outside of the building that appeared to be a dormitory.
“I major in bioinformatics and computer science,” the video publisher said, before going back to study after screaming for a few minutes. “I do this every semester.”
The video racked up more than 2,000 comments, garnering about 670,000 views in just five days of posting. In addition to the post, a number of videos of UCSD students screaming right before the final exam are being shared on TikTok. This “scream tradition” is not limited to one university. The TikToks include “Just Before the Final Exam, Berkeley,” “The Final Exam Week Tradition at Michigan State University,” and “UCLA’s unique culture… Videos of similar scenes, such as “May 4, 3, 2, 1, Scream,” have been posted one after another at major U.S. universities, indicating that it is a culture that has spread throughout the U.S. university community.
Netizens responded variously, such as “This is why the final exam is so painful,” “I think this will relieve my stress,” “It’s a tradition that has spread throughout American universities,” and “I want to scream, too.”
Jeong Ra-ri, a Korean graduate student at UCSD, also said, “There is a culture like this. It is a unique culture where students scream to relieve their stress.” “I often see students running in lines wearing underwear, which is another culture unique to the school,” he said.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
