On Aug. 31, the identity of Saint Louis University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., was taken to Twitter to create the “Faker Biondi” parody account, found at @FakerBiondi. News of this Twitter account spread like wildfire across SLU’s campus.

Rumors and questions ran amuck. The answers to those questions have spread slowly, and only time will tell if they are true. It has been claimed that the account was started by a group, not an individual. Another rumor soon followed, claiming that members of this group had backed out at the last minute to leave only a single maker of the “Faker Biondi” parody. Word through the grapevine claimed that the actual Biondi was not thrilled with these antics, and that he supposedly contacted Twitter to have the account shut down.

However true any of this was, it did prompt the maker(s) of the account to rename it “Faker Biondi” and change the picture. They tweeted, “This account is purely parody. Father Biondi is a great man and has my fullest respect, and I’ve no intention of abusing his name.”

Yet with tweets such as,  “Mirror, mirror, on my expensive, satin-lined wall, who is the tannest, richest, most influential, and best looking #SLU prez of them all?” and “Sometimes, I feel like I’m in such a state of ecstasy that I’ve been overcome by the Holy Spirit. Then I realize my stocks just went up,” and many more of the growing 145  tweets that have been posted, the earlier tweet purporting to respect Biondi’s good name may not be completely accurate.

Most of the tweets tend to focus on Biondi’s supposed obsession with creating a SLU empire, getting, making and taking money, and keeping inebriated freshmen off his lawn.

How are we supposed to know if Biondi likes to sport a bronzed look year round? As for claims of creating an empire – well, some could wonder with the expansion of SLU’s property over the past 20 years of his presidency. But it seems to be in the best interest of the University, as well as the safety of its students, to purchase underutilized buildings and other properties to improve the SLU and Midtown neighborhood.

In regard to freshmen, they are the butt of many jokes due to the fact that they are easy targets. They are not well-versed in the ways of the collegiate life, particularly at SLU. They continually commit the faux pas that more seasoned students and adults would never make again – as they once did when they were freshmen.

Here, it is easy to see that from a humorous standpoint, being made fun of by “the president” of the University would be the ultimate joke at their expense. And let’s face it – it is funny.

Fr. Biondi’s name holds the utmost honor and respect in the St. Louis community, particularly at SLU. His resume of accomplishments is impressive, to say the least. He was named “Citizen of the Year” in 2005 and one of the “Citizens of the Century” in 1999 by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was called a legend by the St. Louis Business Journal. His endeavors since his inauguration as president of the University in 1987, and those earlier in his life, that have made his name worth knowing and respecting.

Regardless of the intentions of the account, it has quickly become a hit on SLU’s campus as anyone can see by its vast number of “followers” – all 1,573 of them and counting. The wit and jokes have caught the community by the funny bone as they laugh at the almost daily tweets of “Faker Biondi.”

But is the real Biondi laughing? Is it really in the best interest of the maker(s) of “Faker Biondi” to continue to tweet in the name of such a respected member of our community? Perhaps not, but it is entertaining.

Kaylin Ielase is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.