By XENIA SANUT
Tensions are escalating amid an online meme battle as Monash and RMIT Universities compete against the University of Melbourne to decide which institution is superior.
Creating memes to throw shade at Uni Melb has been the call-to arms for members of the Monash community Facebook group, Monash Stalkerspace.
After becoming aware of the battle for supremacy raging online, Monash student Siddhant Nath weighed into the fight, creating and sharing memes which have since gained more than a thousand reacts.
“Nobody gets hurt here and people just throw shade at each other's universities,” Mr Nath said.
“Also I felt a little obligated to take a shot at someone who literally said that people who went to Monash were stupid.”
Some RMIT students have been using their university’s Love Letters and Stalkerspace pages to show their support for Monash.
Contributors to RMIT Love Letters believe the rivalry is predominantly for a laugh, but they have noted students frequently receive snide comments from both Melbourne and Monash.
“It's as if RMIT is the little kid between two parents fighting, but still gets hurt in the crossfire from both sides," one post read.
“To RMIT students, Monash is like the lesser of two evils in a sense.”
The feud was sparked when an anonymous post directed at Monash appeared on UniMelb Love Letters last Friday.
“If you’re feeling inferior, just remember, some people go to Monash,” it read.
UniMelb Love Letters posts claim many Uni Melb students are not aware an online war has been declared between the two universities.
“Any submissions we get that are ‘attacking’ Monash are purely satirical and banter,” a post read.
However, one of the page’s admins released a statement this week asking students to stop sending letters addressing the university’s "superiority" and "elitism".
“I am seriously starting to question if some of you truly believe that you're superior just because you're studying at Unimelb,” the poster wrote.
“Reading some of the comments and submissions embarrasses me, I'm disappointed in myself for providing a platform to some of these mean remarks.”
The battle reached new heights when Monash and RMIT joined forced to promote the event Storm UniMelb and remove a decimal from their ATAR requirements.
The Facebook event was organised by Monash Stalkerspace admin James Whitehead. It has been shared on both universities’ Stalkerspaces, with more than 300 people saying they will attend the event tomorrow.