Printed cutouts of actor/director Nicolas Cage’s face have appeared all over campus.
Students discovered the taped cutouts the morning of April 2 in areas like the gate of Cokesbury Court Apartments, the stairs in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center and the parking lot outside the Market at Alvins.
“It was an April Fools’ Day prank by a genius prankster, if I do say so myself,” said the person responsible, a student at OCU.
The person responsible said the prank was pulled as a way to establish them as a legendary prankster and give people something to laugh about.
They said they conceived the idea in December, but executed it in early April, spending about two hours taping the faces around campus with two accomplices. The person responsible also said they had an additional “agent of chaos” who took one face to hide somewhere off campus.
Students have expressed mixed feelings about the prank.
“While I do not condone their existence, I find their presence vaguely comforting as they make me feel connected to the nonsensical and random nature of the universe,” said Jordan Kilgore, acting sophomore.
Some students said they admire the prank.
“I think it’s hilarious,” said Jason Gonzalez Larsen, music theater freshman. “It’s a great meme. It’s a great prank. That’s all I have to say.”
Kaley McConnaughey, music theater freshman, said she views the Nicolas Cage heads as something more than just paper and tape.
“Absolutely brilliant, very artistic work that we have here from our mysterious benefactor,” McConnaughey said. “Just brilliant. Brings joy to my day, life to this campus. I hope we figure out who it is.”
Sarah Keast, acting senior, said she finds the prank odd and arbitrary.
“It’s pretty strange,” Keast said. “I don’t know who started it or why they started it, but it’s kind of weird. A waste of printer ink.”
There aren’t any new paper heads being taped on campus, but many of the originals still remain.
The person responsible said those who are upset or offended by the Nicolas Cage faces shouldn’t take the matter so seriously.
“It’s just Nicolas Cage, dude,” they said.
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