A college student has jokingly questioned the finances that contributed to her university’s decision to buy a robot that holds balloons and “roams the library during finals week”.
Meg, a student at Northeastern University who goes by the username @winemom6969, shared the criticism of the library robot, covered with balloons in an attempt to cheer students up, in a video posted to the app earlier this month.
In the clip, Meg filmed a small white robot, which had multiple balloons tied to it, as it sped around the university library, in which multiple people could be seen studying.
“So happy that my tuition went towards a balloon robot that roams the library during finals week,” Meg wrote in a text caption on the video, before adding in the caption: “But like go Huskies I guess.”
The video, which has been viewed more than 1.1m times, has prompted amused comments from TikTok users, with some agreeing with Meg’s point, while others defended the robot.
“He’s doing his best okay,” one person commented, while another said: “This is worth it.”
“A balloon during finals week would make it so much better,” someone else added.
The video also prompted some to jokingly point out that the robot appeared to have another function in addition to cheering students up during finals week, as one viewer noted: “I think it’s vacuuming as well.”
However, others agreed that the funds could have been put to better use by the school, as one person sarcastically noted that they have to “pay to print,” but “at least there’s a robot with balloons to hopefully provide some serotonin”.
“They are BEGGING me for money as an alum too lmfao,” another person added, while someone else claimed they would “actually be so triggered if [they] saw that while taking a final”.
Viewers also shared their own schools’ frivolous purchases, with one TikTok user revealing that their school rented a ferris wheel for a day. “Money well spent,” they added.
According to Northeastern University, students pay a yearly tuition of $56,500 to attend the school.
The Independent has contacted Northeastern University for comment.
