Four Hilarious College-Themed YouTube Parodies

Ah, college YouTube parodies. They take our favorite songs and subject them to university-inspired satire. While this remixed lyrical content may have some people cracking up in their dormitories while nursing a hangover, others don’t always find them quite as amusing. Made for a variety of reasons, the following four videos exemplify the numerous motivations behind this recent Internet sensation:

1)  “The Pursuit of Jappiness” – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Set to the tune of Kid Cudi’s “The Pursuit of Happiness,” this video was created by three U of M fraternity students, two of them belonging to Alpha Epsilon Pi, to poke fun at the school’s J.A.P. (Jewish American Princess) population. The three inside-joke-cracking bros admitted that their humorous endeavor was not meant to be “insulting or ridiculing … but only intended to portray a childish, yet miniscule aspect of Greek Life at the University of Michigan.” Nevertheless, UMichigan’s AEPi chapter president had to issue a formal apology in regards to the video and for what “might have been perceived with some offensive undertones,” assuring students that the parody “wasn’t made with derisive purpose.” It should be noted that AEPi is, in fact, a Jewish fraternity.

2) “Drinking Halo” – Tufts University

A couple of Tufts undergrads made this musical love letter to their two favorite activities: drinking and playing the video game “Halo.” While this video didn’t generate the controversy that “The Pursuit of Jappiness” earned nor did it get nearly as many views, it still racked up nearly 18,000 views. This may not seem like a big deal until one realizes that only 2.6% of YouTube videos have at least 10,000 views. The video can attribute some of its popularity to its use of “Black and Yellow” by Wiz Khalifa, whose infectious melody was topping the charts when “Drinking Halo” hit the Web.

3) “Bad Project” – Baylor College of Medicine

We’ve seen humor as a common motivation for making these college parodies. Getting a serious point across, however, is also reason for YouTube projects. These Baylor College of Medicine students made a video parody of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” that has racked up more than 3.1 million views to date. While funny in its own right, the creators’ main purpose was to, “[lament] the frustrations grad students have in doing lab research, coping with lack of funding and finding a well-paying job, which depends on having a good scientific project that gets published in a reputable journal.” Making molecular science entertaining, and giving viewers a peek into the world of aspiring scientists, proves that the power of creativity can make mundane topics amusing and shareable.

4) “Just Five Bucks” – Juniata College

Some college YouTube parodies are even meant for fundraising, such as the case of two students at Juniata College. They made their own rendition of Extreme’s “More Than Words” entitled “Just Five Bucks” to raise money for their university. It’s nice to see people taking a different approach to collecting donations rather than harassing alumni with incessant phone calls. And it seems to be paying off: the video “raised $73,000 from May 28 to May 31 after it was included in an e-mail appeal sent to alumni. That was an 18-percent increase over what was raised with a text-only e-mail sent during the same period last year. Young alumni who graduated in the last decade gave a total of $29,000, an 81-per-cent increase over their donations in 2008.” This little parable just goes to show that a little ingenuity and time can reap huge rewards.

College students create parody videos for numerous reasons. They can make us laugh, make us think, or make us give away our money. As long as YouTube exists, and artists continue to promote music through the site, these resources will inspire people to create and share their confessions of self-expression. And a sample of YouTube fame can be substantial motivation to continue making videos in order to see whether one has legitimate entertainment value. That seems to be the case with this person at least.

Have you ever been part of a college YouTube parody? Send us your links!