"Let's talk money": Users hold Toronto Metropolitan University's socials hostage for tuition

The university formerly known as Ryerson finally announced its new name on Tuesday, and in the aftermath came a hilariously clever money-making scheme.

Following years of pressure from students calling for the name change due to its ties to Canada’s residential school system, the school is now called Toronto Metropolitan University, or TMU for short.

The board of governors approved the new name on Tuesday afternoon, and shortly after its announcement, the internet did its thing and reacted accordingly.

You might also like:
• The university formerly known as Ryerson has finally gotten a new name
• Ryerson University decides to officially change its name

Many took to Twitter to express disappointment, saying, “All the time, money and effort was wasted.”

I feel so bad for the actually creative people in the room who recommended and advocated for better names for the university formerly known as Ryerson but where shut down. All that time, money and effort wasted for Toronto Metropolitan University.

— Septembre She/Her/They/Them (@SeptembreA) April 26, 2022

Of course, plenty of memes popped up, poking fun at the name’s similarities with other universities and certain museum galas.

University of Toronto and Toronto Metropolitan University. pic.twitter.com/I9J2sgXUTK

— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) April 26, 2022

Aah, yes. The steps of the Toronto Met gala. Wonder what looks will be seen here. pic.twitter.com/qPz8ooJGrT

— Temur Durrani (@temurdur) April 26, 2022

While social media was being used as a soapbox for some, others decided to take advantage of the situation and try to turn a profit.

One thing TMU probably didn’t account for is users quickly grabbing every iteration of Toronto Metropolitan University usernames across all social media platforms, and holding them hostage in exchange for payment.

On TikTok, someone took the handle @tmuniversity and wrote in its bio: “If u want the username, let’s talk money.”

On Twitter, a TMU student made an account under the username @TorontoMetro_U.

“Asking price starts at covering my full tuition plus allowance,” the bio reads.

offer stands still tomorrow 11:59pm EST @RyersonU pic.twitter.com/4zWFAJorHF

— charlize alcaraz (@charlizealcaraz) April 26, 2022

If the TMU student’s union wants an Instagram handle, well, they may have to pay a hefty price for @tmstudentunion.

Another Instagram account @torontometrou_ set some specific demands in exchange for the handle.

“This account can be sold in exchange for tuition expenses covered as well as additional school related expenses,” the bio reads.

And there are more: @mettoronto, @toronto_metropolitan_u on Instagram, and @torontometro_university, @torontometro_u on TikTok have been snatched.

So far, the university’s handles on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, remain in some form of “RyersonU.”

Let’s see if any of these username hostage-takers actually get TMU to pay off their tuition.