Viral 2016 resurgence trend finds its way to SU’s campus
Though Delta Delta Delta’s director of recruitment events, Mili Andrade, decided on her sorority’s “2000s Tumblr Girl” bid day theme, many of the members pursued the trends of 2016 instead. For many members, the aesthetic of 2016 felt similar to the 2000s. Courtesy of Mili Andrade, Addi Rudman
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Close friends are participating in the “Mannequin Challenge” while taking selfies with VSCO filters over them. Calvin Harris, Sam Smith and The Chainsmokers are blasting on a five-hour-long playlist.
This was last Thursday’s scene for Syracuse University senior Trisha Priyadarshi, who hosted her friends for a 2016-themed party. For Priyadarshi, it was important to host the party to commemorate and memorialize the best parts of 2016 with close friends, right at the beginning of its 10-year-anniversary.
“We wanted it to be in January to start off the semester. We had a strict dress code actually,” Priyadarshi said. “It had to be period-accurate clothing. A lot of people wore skinny jeans and Abercrombie t-shirts. There were a lot of mustaches, galaxy print, high buns and ponytails and chokers.”
Since the beginning of the year, social media users have been reliving their beloved memories of 2016. Whether it was Tumblr, Kylie Jenner Lip Kits or Supreme hoodies, 2016’s key elements bring a sense of nostalgia for Gen Z. From 2016-themed events to throwback Instagram posts, SU students have been reminiscing on what the year meant to them.
Recently, SU’s very own Otto the Orange joined in on the trend, posting an Instagram carousel of throwbacks. The beloved mascot can be seen posing with students in the then-Carrier Dome at different athletic events, along with a couple of adventurous selfies that took place in 2016.
On Jan. 25, sorority Delta Delta Delta’s bid day theme was “2000s Tumblr Girl.” When coming up with the theme in the fall, Mili Andrade, senior and Tri Delta’s director of recruitment events, decided on the theme to show the public how much Tri Delta appreciates their members’ real, authentic selves.
“These events are sometimes used to show social status, or show you have the best style, or the coolest,” Andrade said. “We wanted to portray how it’s not that serious. That recruitment can be fun and it can be silly and can show personality.”
Though Tri Delta’s official theme was to take it back to the 2000s, many of the sorority’s members decided to embrace the return of 2016. Plus, 2016 falls squarely in the middle of the 2000s era. On bid day, poop and unicorn emojis lined the halls of the house. Senior class members had Tri Delta matching hats, and the sorority’s new members received camouflage-print sweatshirts.
“When I picked this theme in the fall, I had no idea that Jan. 1st, people would wake up and start posting that 2016 is back. I would never be like, ‘I called it! I knew it!’ Nobody can,” Andrade said.
Across the board, most SU students enjoyed 2016’s trends. Priyadarshi said she most enjoyed the music and fashion of the year, while freshman architecture major Noah Meyerhoff said he missed the year’s trinkets and activities, like fidget spinners and bottle flipping.
Looking back on 2016, Meyerhoff said he sees things in a more “colorful light.” 2026’s events, ideas and trends feel more black, white and “materialistic,” Meyerhoff said.
Only time will tell what trends will resurface 2036. Addi Rudman, a freshman public relations major, said she believes cheetah print and dark feminine makeup will go out of style within the next 10 years.
“Since we are going to be in the work force in 10 years, I think those trends will be faded out for our generation. I think polka dots could kinda stay in because they are classy and cute,” Rudman said.
Even when planning her own 2016-themed party, Priyadarshi claimed the nostalgia was bittersweet, noticing that the last few years have gone “downhill.” She said the era was a simpler time in regards to social media platforms. Priyadarshi said people, including herself, rely on apps like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok much more now than they did in 2016.
But, planning her party brought Priyadarshi back to a happier time.
“I felt a sense of comfort planning this party. Life was so awesome back then and there’s potential for things to be the same way again,” Priyadarshi said. “I was also comforted by the fact that I had a great time that year and happy I went through that year developmentally.”
