Katelyn Halverson

In a faraway land called North Campus, a freshman is filming a series of TikToks in their Mary Donlon Hall dorm room, hoping to ride the For You Page all the way to virality. Elsewhere, another member of the Class of 2030 is looking around Cornell’s gorge-ous campus and thinking, “Wow, I should turn this into a brand deal.” They wouldn’t be the first to try, and they certainly won’t be the last. The Influencer is a new character archetype popping up on college campuses.

As daylight dimmed over Collegetown on March 6, burgundy curtains framed the windows of VINIFERA Ithaca, while bartenders behind a marble countertop prepped for the evening ahead. At 5:30 p.m. sharp, attendees donning satin, floor-length dresses began to file in: Cue the soft clinking of martini glasses, the lively rattle of cocktail shakers and high heels clicking on the floor.

“Call me when you get the chance.” The message from my sister appears beneath a blue and gray stream of similar, brief exchanges. “Call me back” she wrote in one text, followed by a dramatic line of exclamation points. “Sorry I’m in class, call later?” she wrote in another. I can’t count how many times I’ve replied with, “Can’t talk right now, in the library.” A soft pang of guilt and even nostalgia, strikes me as I scroll through our messages. It never used to be this complicated.