Between her record-breaking Eras tour, continued re-recording of her masters — hello “Taylor’s Version” — and high engagement on online fan communities like SwiftTok, Taylor Swift has never been more popular — particularly among university students. Stanford, NYU, UT Austin, and Queen’s University each offer their own courses on the 33-year-old pop star, and the creation of university Swift Societies like the recently-formed UW chapter have only cemented Swift’s influence on current pop culture.
Mei Lin, UW Swift Society president and first-year math student, attributes Swift’s only-growing popularity on university campuses to the age range of Gen Z fans who are now old enough to feel nostalgic for early tracks like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story” while also appreciating how much she’s evolved musically. “When we were younger in elementary school, that’s when she [first] became popular, and it’s like we all grew up with her so we’ve listened to her all throughout the eras,” she said.
Laura Lee, a Swift Society member and 4B mathematics, statistics, and computational mathematics student, is another longtime fan who grew up listening to Swift. “I became a Swiftie in 2012, right before her release of Red. At the age of twelve, I was kind of old enough to kind of realize she’s a phenomenal artist. At that point, I didn’t have an iPod or a phone or anything so I actually bought her CD and I would play it on my PC CD, and ever since then, I’ve been a Swiftie,” she said.
UW Swifties like Lin and Lee put their love for all things Taylor on full display at the recent Clubs and Societies Fair: club executives were decked out in Taylor-themed outfits like the “22” music video T-shirt and glittery Eras Tour-style dress while booth attendees pasted sticky notes of their favourite Swift song onto a sticker-covered poster (I opted for “Holy Ground”). And of course, there was the booth’s pièce-de-resistance: a mini friendship bracelet-making station based on the current trend of bracelet-trading at the Eras tour. This fun-filled environment is one Lin is leaning into with the club, which will feature trivia nights, game nights, listening parties — and of course — the heavily-requested Taylor Swift dance parties. “We just want a place for people to socialize and share their love for Taylor,” she said.
While activities like sticker-making and bracelet-swapping are one fun facet of the club’s appeal, members also feel drawn to the society as a safe place in which they can freely bond over their shared love of Swift’s music. “I’ve always been a fan but I never really encountered in-person Swifties as hardcore as I am [before],” Lee said. “I run a Taylor Swift fan account on Twitter, [and] I was on Tumblr in 2012, 2014, so I’ve been there, but it’s very exciting to me when I encounter this club on campus because it was a way for me to touch base with other Swifties, and I never got to experience that.”
Having a designated space to bond over Taylor Swift feels especially freeing when skeptics of Swift’s music often don’t engage in good faith: there’s the tired myth that she does not write her own songs (despite beginning her musical career as the youngest songwriter ever to be hired at Sony/ATV at the age of 14), coupled with the broader belief that pop music is somehow inherently less worthy than other musical genres. Despite being praised for her musicianship by industry veterans like Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, and Stevie Nicks, non-Swifties dismiss her outright as just another passing pop star.
Lee dispels this by pointing to how Swift’s longevity would not have been possible without the sheer storytelling prowess that separates her from similar artists in her league. “[It’s] the fact that she writes her own music and personally connects with it — and also she’s an incredible musician,” Lee said. “She’s not afraid to be vulnerable, and she’s not afraid to be authentic to herself as well.”
Lin echoes a similar line of thinking, explaining that Swift’s songwriting is what keeps longtime fans engaged with each new release. “I think it’s being able to relate to how complex her songs are, and that’s why she’s really big among university fans,” Lin said. There’s no denying that Swift is a commercial artist who can craft a catchy hook and sell a record, but her art is ultimately one of undeniable impact — the kind you just can’t shake off.
The sign-up sheet for new UW Swift Society members is available in the @uwswiftsociety Instagram bio.
