Have you heard of the new student-created Facebook group, the Nerd? I had the opportunity to interview the pioneers of The Nerd, Nina Spitofsky and Becca Shapiro, about their motivation for creating the page and their goals for the future of the page. So, if you are unfamiliar with The Nerd or just want to know why it was made, continue reading!

What is the Nerd?

Becca: It’s a Facebook group for Harriton students to share news about clubs, events, and student achievements with the Harriton community.
Nina: It’s basically a free speech forum.
Becca: Yeah. We wanted to make a place where everyone could make themselves heard.
Nina: Herd! Get it? Hahaha

How/Why did you decide to create it?

Becca: We saw the need for a convenient place online where students could communicate with the whole student body.
Nina: We wanted to provide a place for Harriton students to share their ideas and announcements in a comfortable environment.

Many people may think this competes against the Herd – thoughts?

Becca: The Herd seems like it has a very specific purpose — school sports — which is great, but we also wanted a place where people could discuss non athletics.
Nina: Our intention is not to replace the Herd. We wanted to make a place for clubs and other student activities to speak freely.

What’s cool about being a Nerd?

Nina: EVERYTHING–
Becca: It’s awesome!
Nina: Being a Nerd is something we all share.
Becca: If you’re a Nerd, you’re someone who isn’t afraid to speak up, and it’s cool to be unique and share that with other people.

Are most people at Harriton Nerds?

Becca: So far we have 425 members in the group.
Nina: That’s a little more than a third of the students.
Becca: Right now, the page is largely comprised of upperclassmen. We want to help it reach the underclassmen, too.

How can students join the Nerd?

Nina: You can lookup “The Nerd” on Facebook and request to join.
Becca: You can also have anyone you know in the group add you.

Are you going to expand to other social media platforms?

Both: We haven’t thought of it.
Becca: I suppose we could.
Nina: The future is filled with many —
Becca: Clichés. If we feel the need to we will, but as of now it’s unclear.

What are the goals of the page?

Becca: Our goal is to provide a place where people can communicate with the school community in a friendly way.
Nina: With free speech.  We also want to promote community with the Nerd.
Becca: True. We want the Nerds to be able to share anything, be it prom-posals, wedding proposals, bar mitzvah proposals…whatever!

What is going to happen with it once you graduate?

Becca: Well it’s not gonna disappear, we know that.
Nina: We’ll hand it off to other Harriton students who are interested in running it next year.
Becca: So if you’re interested give us a shout! Or whatever noise a ram makes.
Nina: Or a cake!
Becca: Bribes are welcome.

Now that you’ve made it this far, why not log into Facebook and join the coolest kids in school? Join the Nerd!