Month: September 2023

Over the past two decades, Clemson University has received praises for its accomplishments as a public land grant university and for its rankings by the U.S. News and World Report and Wall Street Journal. This year, Clemson was named the best college in South Carolina by Niche and ranked number 25 in best public institutions in the nation according to the 2024 Wall Street Journal/College Pulse rankings. Conversations about Clemson continue to rise as the university progresses in varying projects like the development of new programs, interdisciplinary collaborations on campus, and top ranking sporting teams. 

Conversations on the release of Clemson’s ranking with the Wall Street Journal peaked on September 13th, 2023 and had a reach of 658.47 K and 123 mentions. The majority of conversations surrounding the announcement had a positive sentiment and key words of discussion indicated praises of the university’s leadership in achieving the ranking. Jim Clements, President of Clemson University, created the most conversation on the topic with his statement regarding the rankings.

In addition to the national recognition the university received this month, Clemson has also had great achievements in women’s soccer. As of September 17th, 2023, Clemson women’s soccer was ranked no. 6 in NCAA Division 1. The team held their season opener against the university’s in-state rival South Carolina on Thursday, August 17th, 2023. Since the start of the season, @clemsonwsoccer has had a reach of 4.87 million with 445 mentions and an overall positive sentiment.

Prior to moving up in ranking, conversations peaked for Clemson Women’s Soccer on September 7th, 2023. The team was ranked no. 9 in the matchup against No. 7 Arkansas. Following the big win over Arkansas, overwhelming support has been seen for the team on social media. In general, the team’s support is visible on multiple social media platforms. 

Conversations continue to peak with every game the Clemson Women’s Soccer Team completes and the overall sentiment surrounding the team indicates the community looks forward to seeing what the Tigers will do during the final matches of the season. The Tigers are set to take on their next opponent (Syracuse) on September 30th, 2023. 

The university has also announced their participation in a collaborative effort with the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina in the creation of a first-of-its-kind Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. The announcement of this research facility came alongside the announcement of $10 million coming from in-state funding announced by legislators to aid in the project. Conversations are starting to pick up as the university begins this project with other top state research institutions. Clemson’s post alone on this effort has had a reach of 20.9 K and other participating institutions are promoting the Center as well. Read more about the partnership here: 

South Carolina’s top research institutions collaborate to advance comprehensive Alzheimer’s disease research, medical discoveries and education

As Clemson University nears the middle of the fall semester, community members remain excited about what’s to come for the new programs and projects, as well as, how sports teams will perform.

Author: Lexi Merriman

In a world where gun violence and school shootings are becoming more prevalent, universities find themselves making new plans of action to accommodate for the changing environment we now live in. UNC Chapel Hill experienced this on August 28th, 2023 at 1:03 pm when they went into lockdown due to a perceived threat of a gunman on campus. Community members took to social media during and after the incident and conversations are still ongoing nearing three weeks after the lockdown. 

The incident had a reach of 6.16 billion and as of today had 901.81 K mentions. In addition to the shooting on August 28th, UNC Chapel Hill experienced another lockdown on Wednesday, September 13th, 2023. 

Conversations peaked on August 28th, 2023 and additionally peaked on September 13th following the second lockdown. Conversations and mentions of the topic were primarily held on X (formerly Twitter).

In addition to debates on gun laws in North Carolina and the response of UNC Chapel Hill to the two lockdowns, one of the major conversations that took place surrounding the incident on Aug. 28th was pertaining to the university’s student newspaper.

Not only is the university’s student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, a nonprofit publication, it is also the only print publication for Orange County, NC. This made for an even larger local audience to boost conversations. On August 30th, 2023, the student-led newspaper released an addition of the paper attempting to capture what students, faculty, staff, and community members all felt during the events two days prior.

The Daily Tar Heel’s X (formerly Twitter) account reposted the announcement of the newspaper cover by Caitlyn Yaede, print managing editor of the student paper. The newspaper cover has since been used nationally by numerous reporting agencies as they cover the incident. The post (and newspaper) went viral with 8.3 million views and 24.4K reposts. Additionally, it opened another avenue in the comments for users to hold discussions on the newspaper, both positive and negative.

   

Other major conversations surrounding the incident were in regard to the UNC Chapel Hill’s March for Our Lives Chapter, a gun activist group, presence at North Carolina legislature meeting. The group was escorted from the Chambers after chanting “vote them out” at the legislators. Social media conversations highlighted this event as it was only one day before the school and community members found themselves in a second lockdown (September 12th, 2023). 

Conversations are still ongoing as the nation and the UNC Chapel Hill community deals with the effects of this incident. The shooting on August 28th, 2023 resulted in the death of Zijie Yan, an associate professor in the department of Applied Physical Sciences.

Author: Lexi Merriman 

The Tigers returned to the field this past Monday in a game vs. the Duke Blue Devils. The game took place at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, NC, kicking off the 2023 season. The event was the season opener for both teams in the ACC conference and was a greatly anticipated start to the season for the no. 9 Clemson Tigers. Despite the predictions given for the game, for example Sports Illustrated gave an FPI prediction of the Clemson Tigers with an 86.9% chance of winning the game outright compared to Duke at 13.1 %, the Blue Devils beat the Clemson Tigers by a score of 28-07 (Perks, 2023). 

Following the unexpected outcome, there were a lot of conversation surrounding the game for Tiger fans. From September 3rd through September 8th, the game results plus the anticipation for the next matchup had a reach of 803.42 million and 94.48K mentions overall. Mostly pertaining to the excitement of spectators before both the Duke game and the anticipated game against Charleston Southern University (CSU) on September 9th, there was an overall positive sentiment. Conversations peaked on Monday, September 4th about the game vs. Duke with the most utilized platform being X (formerly Twitter). 

On Monday September 4th, one of the primary conversations was surrounding a post made by the College Football Report regarding Clemson’s participation in the Playoffs. Many fans held discussion on the validity of the statement from the College Football Report.

Additionally, this game marked Duke’s first AP top-10 win since 1989. This sparked conversations among Duke fans regarding the team’s exciting win and also on upsets across conferences. Conversations also highlighted skepticism from viewers on pre-season ranking in general. 

In looking forward to the next game, fans are discussing the opportunity for Clemson to just play for fun and without stress after last week’s loss. Quarterback Cade Klubnik took some heat for his performance in the game against Duke, but spectators are excited to see him get to play on his home field and with a little bit less pressure. Additionally, Tiger fans are eager for the new Tiger Walk and first game back in Death Valley. 

Spectators wait to see if a home team advantage will give Clemson the edge they need as they take on the Charleston Southern Buccaneers today, Saturday (Sep. 9).  

Author: Lexi Merriman