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Blair may have her sights set on Yale, and Dan is destined for Dartmouth, but that isn’t stopping Harvard students from following Gossip Girl’s lead. Back in February (over exam period, to be exact), an anonymous Ivy Leaguer launched the appropriately titled Gossip Geek, which claims to be “a totally real 100% legit Harvard gossip website.” Upon hearing about it, we couldn’t wait to see what the Geek had in store for us! Unfortunately (and yet also predictably), we discovered no masquerade balls, mistaken identities, or roofied Diet Cokes at final clubs. Sure, there’s a profile on some kid who likes to walk around in Speedos and a list ranking Harvard’s “celebrities” (most of whom are members of the Undergraduate Council), but the site is far more Nelly Yuki than Serena van der Woodsen.
Nothing posted has been quite as scintillating as the Yale student whose pornographic past was outed on JuicyCampus.com. “It isn’t that Harvard kids are out there in rehab or being promiscuous or anything, but they sure act like people should treat them as such. With awe,” Gossip Geek himself (or herself) explained to us over Gchat. “So this culture is just begging to be recorded and parodied.” With roughly 47,000 hits since February, Gossip Geek has had at least a small effect on the Harvard community. “Since we first began, we’ve had dozens of people speculating as to who we are or where we come from and why we do what we do,” GG told us. You hear that? Literally dozens. “We knew we made it big when the Crimson published an article stating that the chair of the [school’s disciplinary board] wanted anyone who was featured on our site to call the police.” The site’s creators really knew they “made it” when someone actually did call the cops to report a “suspicious blog.” Okay, okay. “A” for effort, Harvard, but we’ll stick with Constance Billard, thanks. —Katie Goldsmith
Gossip Geek [Blogspot]
