Caleb Ellenberg
September 8th

The world of Sidechat

A look at the anonymous posts fueling gossip and gripes at Brown.

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This project analyzes Brown’s Sidechat (233,027 anonymous posts from mid-March 2022 to August 2026). Anyone with a Brown email can join Sidechat, but the majority are likely undergrads. The bars below show the total number of upvotes each day. Those bars and the accompanying posts give you a glimpse into life as a Brown student over the past four and a half years.

Sidechat launched at Brown on March 15th, 2022 and collected 10,190 upvotes in its first day on campus. A Bio 200 midterm inspired the first recorded post.

Who else is about to fail the next bio 200 exam? 😖
Every time a freshman switches out of premed a cannon should go off like in hunger games

Housing selection always causes a stir, and the 2022 process was particularly controversial.

Reslife regretting taking math s/nc rn

Sidechat is a place for humor:

Please remember condoms are not 100% safe. My friend was wearing one and still got hit by the brown shuttle

For supporting classmates:

nowhere else to post this, as of 1 hr ago my mom is cancer free!!

And of course, for venting:

i’m so tired please just give me an A
Oh no! I missed my 9 AM tomorrow.
freshmen failing their math classes but asking “where the parties at” bro u worried about the wrong functions

The Naked Donut Run usually causes a stir:

the only time Brown shows school spirit is for naked people and weed
The first five days after the weekend are always the hardest. Hang in there 🫶
Banger Day of SW brought to you by: - Remi “do your taxes” Wolf - 070 “security let them be” Shake - Ethel “does she need water” Cain
We’ve reached the weird part of finals where half of campus is finished and frolicking outside while half of us are in the deepest darkest pits of academic despair
The point difference between Harvard and Brown games keeps getting smaller every year. We might actually win next year
True networking is knowing someone at the front of the Andrews line
andrew’s is bad good pizza the ratty is good bad pizza
Shoutout to everyone who crosses roads diagonally to shave off that little bit of extra distance. I see you with that hypotenuse
Why should I be surprised your sister got in ED your last name is litterally Kasper Multipurpose Room

Brown's men's basketball team pulled off a shocking upset over #1 seeded Princeton, advancing to the Ivy Madness final (which they would later lose to Yale on a buzzer-beater.)

WE ARE A BASKETBALL SCHOOL

Students were less than pleased with the 2024 Spring Weekend lineup.

girl who?
After such an atrocious lineup I am formally requesting the UFB audit the BCA because I feel like some of my tuition dollars may have been spent on DoorDash

The concert itself wasn't received much better:

there was way better turn out for the eclipse and we had classes that day

On April 24th, students set up an encampment on the Main Green to protest for divestment.

Wake up babe, THERES AN ENCAMPMENT
Ok but why does everyone just have tents ready at a moments notice. Like is that a standard thing to bring to college?
Walking out of the orgo exam knowing that an alcohol is what I’m gonna be drinking after it, I’m alkene on dropping out, and I’m alkynes of screwed
I lost my necklace at KASA last night I’d be very grateful and pay you a fortune if you found it. It’s a special item for me plss It’s Serpenti Viper Necklace from Bvlgari
Find love? I’m tryna find that mf necklace
if i found the necklace i wouldn’t tell anyone but there would be signs

After a 12-game losing streak, Brown football finally defeated Harvard by completing an incredible comeback with a 27-yard touchdown pass.

Brown: 31, Harvard: 28 Fuck Harvard
Maybe they deserve to cut me in the Andrews burrito bowl line
Never leaving a sporting event early again
i wonder whether there’s someone in campus who hasn’t yet heard the outcome of the election surely there’s, like, an engineering student who’s been locked in b&h for the last 30 hours
NO WAY JOJO SIWA JUST DID THE KARMA DANCE ON THE SAME STAGE I HAVE GENETICS
Sidechat Fall 2024 Wrapped: Brown 31-28 Harvard Chem 330 midterm Northern lights Chem 330 midterm Jojo siwa
Somewhere there’s an archbron basement freshmen nervously pacing their room watching the water level rise and I think that’s so special ❤️

The Marriage Pact arrived at Brown and caused a stir:

i was supposed to meet the love of my life 53 minutes ago what the hell is going on
Guys who signed up cpax 🥲
“Brown will fix the world that Harvard broke” -Andrew Yang
A MEAL WITH A MILKSHAKE???!!! UCS PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK GIRL

On April 3rd, the federal government froze $510 million of funding for Brown:

NO MORE FUNDING AHHHHHHHHH FUUUUUUUUCKKKKK
guys i think if we band together and find the bvlgari serpenti necklace we can get back that money
at brown university they do not let you eat meat or salad… there is only ice cream for food

2025 spring weekend was largely a hit:

Offset went crazy
so my ta just twerked on me
BROWN UNIVERSITY PERFORMATIVE MALE COMPETITION 09/03 FDOC. 12 PM MAIN GREEN NEXT WEEK. BE THERE.

Brown football failed to follow up their epic 2024 win against Harvard, giving up a pick-six on the first play of the game and eventually losing 41-7:

Football team chose to S/NC this game too apparently
we should confiscate the scooters until the football team wins again
Texts are dry. Midterms were hard. Bed is empty. I’m gonna throw a mango at the next couple I see holding hands
To whoever just threw a mango at me and my boyfriend, fuck you. It wasn’t funny. I hope you stay miserable

During and after the December 13th shooting, students relied on Sidechat for vital information. Someone posted about the shooting at 4:06 PM, just one minute after the first 911 call. A user posted a more specific warning at 4:10 PM. Brown sent out the first emergency alert at 4:22 PM.

Why are people running away from B&H?
STAY AWAY FROM THAYER STREET NEAR MACMILLAN 2 PEOPLE JUST GOT SHOT IM BEING DEAD SERIOUS

In the following hours and days, Sidechat became a place for students to support each other, share updates, and mourn.

huge shoutout to all the incredible ratty staff who have been taking care of a hundred students for the past 5 hours, keeping us fed and safe, when they must be just as scared
Every student should walk through those gates twice. May their souls rest in peace 🕊️💐
I got back to campus yesterday and this morning it snowed. There’s something special about my last and first day here having snowfall. Here’s to remembering, healing, and new beginnings this semester.

Over three February days, 37.9 inches of snow fell in the largest snowstorm in Rhode Island recorded history. In-person classes were cancelled for two days.

NO CLASS ON TUESDAY
Ski jump on campus!!!
“Is-“ No, it’s not open.
Back in my day we walked through 3 feet of snow just to be rationed a single slice of Ratty pizza during the great blizzard. Be grateful for what you have
Wait i’m actually so stupid. I’ve been seeing posts about tf green and thought it was like main green and quiet green. i was like what is “the fuck green” like i thought it was a niche spot on campus.

Students banded together to compete in March Yakness, a Sidechat game pitting schools against each other. Brown was eliminated despite a strong effort against UCSB in the elite 8. Brown did manage to score the most overall points to win the Campus Cup.

BLUE ROOM. 11AM. WE YAK TOGETHER FOR 2 HOURS. BE THERE.
No need to assign blame. We lost. The only thing left to find out is when the mods graduated from UCSB

Another year, another spring weekend controversy.

i love thee sacred souls but baby that’s coffee shop music that’s not spring weekend
this is a Perkins type lineup did brown get the last concert timeslot
My demands for dining at brown next year: 1: Make the Andrew’s door heavier (ABSOLUTE MUST) 2: Limit Ivy room hours, it’s just too convenient as it is 3: Close more dining halls on the weekends, I get overwhelmed with options 4: Tofu scramble served 24/7
Beginning with the upcoming academic year, brown will not provide trees or grass as a standard amenity. You may travel to public parks or rent trees.
Bro... Canvas is like hacked hacked...
Just finished my last paper and am officially done with undergrad! Thanks Brown for a wonderful four years 🥲!

On August 3rd, President Christina Paxson announced she would step down after the 2026-27 academic year.

Christina Paxson, you have served our university well. Although many say you weren’t perfect, you took us through the worst of times and more. Thank you for all that you have done. Let’s have one more great year together.
The search for the new Brown Avatar is underway
yo we gotta gatekeep tf out of the gork this year
NOTICE TO ALL FRESHMEN: step on the pembroke seal (the steps near vdub) for straight As and GENERATIONAL WEALTH ‼️‼️‼️
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Methods:

The data for this project was last updated on September 7th, 2026. Posts deleted by users before that date are not included. All posts are anonymous and reproduced as posted. Upvotes represent the total number of upvotes minus any downvotes. Sentiment values were calculated with NLTK and weighted by the number of upvotes each post received. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to [email protected].