Instagram account uncquirks serves as digital scrapbook of on-campus life

UNC is full of personality — possums in trash cans, unicycles made from Jordans and Squidward-shaped snowmen in the winter time. Throughout campus, these quirks can be found just about anywhere — all it takes is a careful eye to notice. 

Uncquirks is an Instagram account that posts these oddities found on campus, whether it’s weird, disgusting, funny or inspiring. It purports to carry on the centuries-long legacy of quirkiness on campus, mentioning that the University has been "quirky since 1789" in the page's Instagram bio. If a quirk is found by someone on campus, it can be submitted to the account and posted for others to see. 

The uncquirks creator has only revealed small details about her identity thus far; a sliver of her face in the account’s profile picture, her major and occasional fun facts about herself — until now. Her name is Katherine Verm, a UNC senior double majoring in economics and English. 

The account first began in 2022, when Verm first-year, with a little procrastination. She was putting off studying for a chemistry exam when she began showing pictures of funky moments that happened on campus to her friends. It inspired her to make a digital scrapbook of sorts as an inside joke with her friends.

After a couple of months, Verm decided to try to grow the page so she could repost quirks others had found on campus. She compares the practice of looking for quirks to a gratitude journal — it is a fun way for her to stay engaged with the community but also remain appreciative of the everyday unusual things on UNC’s campus. 

“It really kind of transformed the way that I view UNC, and made me really, really excited whenever I saw those little, for lack of a better word, ‘quirks’ around campus,” Verm said.

Although most of the posts are her own observations, Verm accepts submissions from anyone. Once the photos are posted, credit can be given to the photographer, or they can remain anonymous. The posts are mostly about physical content but sometimes feature people on campus too. 

One of Verm’s most recent posts was about Tyson Bendzak, a unicyclist who was riding a custom unicycle wheel made out of Jordan shoes on campus. 

“Hello?!!” Verm wrote in the caption. “Coolest Jordans I’ve ever seen! @tysontee23 is here from Nike headquarters and riding a custom wheel made by @wendelldadulla !! People are the coolest!”

Like a group chat with friends, social media accounts like uncquirks are one big inside joke between the UNC community, Verm said.  It acts as another way to share campus culture and find a sense of community within a school as large as UNC. 

UNC graduate Isabel Inman has been a friend of Verm for 11 years and was with her when one of the first posts on uncquirks was made. The pair grew mold in a petri dish after reporting an unresolved mold issue to their dorm. The page is a lighthearted way to poke fun at the things students take seriously on campus, Inman said, and a fun way for students to relate. 

“Even though it's a small thing — an Instagram page — I thought, especially for Katherine, it was something fun that she felt filled her community a little bit,” Inman said.

UNC senior and double major in economics and music Tim Yardley has frequently submitted content since his first year at UNC. He discovered the account through the “mutuals” section on his Instagram and became friends with Verm thereafter. Because there’s always "weird stuff" going on on campus, Yardley said, the account is a good way to share experiences with other students. 

“It certainly is going to be a memorable part of college for Katherine, most definitely, and for me as well,” Yardley said. “It was a fun way to document the craziness of the college experience.”

The account’s future is currently undecided. Uncquirks is something personal to Verm, and whether or not she should pass down the account to a friend or stranger remains a question. But until then, Verm will continue to share the strange and unparalleled UNC experience with other students. 

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