Satire

The Charger Bulletin staff has been consistently scoping out the University of New Haven news competitors over the years. Now, they are starting to wave their white flags in the air and surrender their title as the most accurate news source on campus. For decades, The Charger Bulletin newspaper has been titled the, “The student news source of the University of New Haven,” but a new competitor has taken over.

On Oct. 27, 2021, the Bulletin’s newest competitor UNH After Dark on Instagram emerged as the University of New Haven’s up-and-coming news industry.
Founded by a student who goes by Barry, After Dark is the latest platform on which students can share their confessions, complaints and opinions on issues such as the inner workings of the university. Barry, via direct message, processes the most important news faster than the Charger Bulletin can. Students have the option to anonymously submit responses, which increases the comfort of those sharing their opinions and news on the platform. A few students have recently been commenting on their opinions about the university’s ambiance, one of which said, “I had a thought today. If UNH smelled like something, it’d smell like the way the word Sodexo sounds.”

Others have posed questions entirely unrelated to the university, asking, “Have you ever had the craving for watermelon/oyster flavored ice cream but had accidentally dipped your toe in shaving cream?”

Questions and comments also come from recently accepted students who have chosen to commit to the university. Many of these students have submitted statements such as “I just committed to UNH. Any info I should be aware about? Like really terrible professors and advisors I should stay away from?” Within minutes of receiving the commentary from students, Barry posts the messages received through Instagram to inform students on the latest university news.

When asked why Barry created After Dark, they said, “I wanted to create a place where students can share thoughts and experiences that they normally wouldn’t with the safety of anonymity.”
Along with the power of anonymity, students at the university have also shared their uncensored opinions. With more than 1,700 followers and more than 700 posts created, the success of this account for Barry is readily observable.

Barry said, “How ‘successful’ it’s been depends on what you’re looking at, I suppose. From a pure growth perspective, it has been much more successful than I imagined it would be. We’ll just have to wait and see how much it grows.”

Because of the increase in followers over the past few months, Barry’s After Dark account is reaching close to 2,000 followers in less than one year after its creation.
After Dark will continue to post real content and be a true sensation at the University of New Haven. If you are interested in being featured on the After Dark Instagram page, message Barry @unh_afterdark.