With thousands of students on campus, it is likely that some of them have caught your eye.

In today’s digital age, expressing your piqued interest for certain individuals you find attractive has never been easier thanks to platforms such as @uvmhottiefinder, an Instagram page dedicated to posting anonymous reports of campus “hotties.”

“I check the UVM Hottie Finder,” said first-year Carly Chrampanis. “I find it entertaining and I always wonder if [anyone] ever wrote one about me.”

With more than 5,000 followers on Instagram, Chrampanis is one of many students who regularly views the posts made by Hottie Finder. She was shocked, however, when she saw her full first and last name mentioned in a post by the page, she said. 

“First and last name is crazy,” Chrampanis said. “I would say I was a little grossed out.” 

The submission that was posted about Chrampanis read, “Tryna hook up with Carly Chrampanis so bad,” according to an Oct. 14 Instagram post.

Because this post specifically mentioned hooking up instead of simply complimenting the subject of the submission, the usual format of Hottie Finder posts, Chrampanis found the post both funny and somewhat off-putting, she said.

First-year Logan Kelley had a similar experience with Hottie Finder, having been posted about three separate times, he said.

Instead of using his name, Kelley’s admirers included details in the submission such as what clothes Kelley was wearing, what he was doing and where he was. 

Specifically, one admirer mentioned Kelley’s distinct pink overalls and that he was cooking in the kitchen of his dorm building, two details that made it obvious to Kelley that it was about him, he said.

About a month later, Kelley’s attention was drawn to another Hottie Finder post, a submission which stated, “Hot UHeights kitchen boy strikes again! I could watch you roll out pasta for hours. Make me your next meal?” according to a Dec. 15 Instagram post.

The post was submitted on a night when Kelley was cooking, leading him to believe that not only was the post once again about him, but that it had been submitted by the same person as the previous post, Kelley said.

Months later, Kelley was once again posted about on the page. The submission read, “To the boy who was walking around UHeights in a corset last night. Let me tie you up next,” according to a Feb. 14 post.

“I was very flattered,” Kelley said. “You should’ve just come up to me or sent me an Instagram DM because I have been tagged in all of the Hottie Finder posts made about me.”

While Kelley wishes his admirers had made themselves known, he understands the appeal of remaining anonymous.

“I get it,” Kelley said. “I probably wouldn’t approach [someone I found attractive], I’d just ‘Hottie Finder’ them.”

While Hottie Finder is a popular outlet amongst students for kind gestures or words of affection, not every post follows this positive format.

First-year Sam Gilman was tagged in a Hottie Finder post made about him at the beginning of fall semester. The submission stated, “Whoever dropped a bagel on my toes, (cream cheese side down) in Simp Dining, I hope you know I talked about that all day,” according to a Sept. 6 post.

Before being posted about, Gilman had never heard of Hottie Finder. He only discovered the page after his coworker had tagged him in the comments of the post, he said.

“That was so scary, mainly in a really funny way,” Gilman said. “You do kind of get in your head after that happens the first time because you’re like fuck, is it gonna happen again?”

While it was initially shocking to be called out so publicly for something accidental, Gilman now sees it as a comical situation, he said.

“I’m so sorry I dropped the cream cheese bagel on your toes and even more sorry for picking it up off of your toes,” Gilman said.

 Not every submission that is sent in makes it into a post, however, according to direct messages with Hottie Finder sent on March 11.

“We’ve been trying to keep out the really weird [posts] that might make people uncomfortable,” they stated.

It isn’t only the uncomfortable posts that get filtered out. Sometimes the creators of Hottie Finder recognize the names in the submissions and use their discretion as to whether or not to post them, they stated.

“We recognize the person getting the Hottie Finder and we know they suck so we don’t post it,” they stated. “Don’t be an awful person if you want a submission written about you!”

Hottie Finder was originally created in 2021 in response to a lack of posts from the UVM Missed Connections page. The account originally started out small but now they receive upwards of 30 submissions a day, Hottie Finder stated.

“I was super nosey and wanted to read a bunch of submissions. Plus there were so many hotties, I saw there needed to be something for all of them!” they stated. 

Now, Hottie Finder is being run anonymously by a group of friends. Only when the group trusts someone enough do they reveal their identity, they stated.

“It’s super fun […] it’s sort of like our Radio Rebel moment,” they stated. “[Revealing our identity is] kinda goofy but always gag inducing.”

For now, Hottie Finder plans on continuing to post as regularly as possible but as for the future, Hottie Finder’s days are numbered. Upon graduation next year, the creators of Hottie Finder plan on retiring the service, they said.

“We all love being Hottie Finder and having this as a part of our college experience,” they stated. “[We] would love to see another original missed connections account pop up!”