Dear CS50, Please Make Harvard a New Snapchat Filter

It has already been some eight months since Harvard got its first Snapchat filter. Since then we’ve seen some really exciting additions to Snapchat (read: we’ve seen everyone and their mother puke rainbows). I am all for watching failed Snap videos of friends raising eyebrows with no spectacles appearing, but wouldn’t it look so much better with a brand new Harvard filter? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a new and hip way to remind your friends which East Coast Ivy League you attend? Probably not, because that aging spectacle filter flatters no one and probably offends all old people, but it’s worth a shot.

If This Is CS50, then make some new Harvard Snapchat filters. We just need David Malan et al. to stop wasting precious coding hours taking staff selfies and start working their Javascript magic on Snap filters. Here are some ideas I’ve come up with:

1. The 12 Houses – It’s simple, but nothing screams house pride more than showing off your house’s new filter in a Snap story. It could become like the next IM competition. And think of how much it could enhance people’s drunk housing day selfies! Think about the day-to-day potential: want to grab lunch with some friends? Send a mass snapchat with your location, and someone will be sure to show up.

2. The Big Three – Pee on John Harvard, run Primal Scream, have sex in the Widener stacks; the Big 3 have potential for some new snap filters in the Yard. Plus, it’ll make invitations to the stacks so much less confrontational.

3. The Pilgrim – Most colleges have mascots, so most colleges have mascots in their Snap filters. According to Google, “John Harvard, the pilgrim” is our mascot, so either turn that into something cool, or create some hip new Crimson mascot.

4. Crimson - Speaking of our lack of a real mascot, why not create an exorbitant Ivy League filter that really gets the message across that you are a real-life student at Harvard? Our current filter is a little unglamorous, and nothing says “oldest college in America” like a pretentious filter to match.