Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

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October 4, 2022
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Q&A: UT tower bells answers everything from its origins, gender to campus fame

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Rachel Tyler

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of the UT Tower? How did it get access to Twitter? Why is it always dinging? We asked, and we got all the answers.

For the past year the anonymous Twitter account @uttowerbells has been bringing the voice of the UT Tower to life through ridiculous and horrendously misspelled tweets. The parody account, run by a theater and dance sophomore, covers everything from the Tower’s daily life to its opinions on football, current events and UT students.

We had the opportunity to sit down with the Tower in a tell all interview about love, life, Twitter and of course “Gerald, the kind old man with hooks for hands that kisses (its) bells.”


Misspellings and grammatical errors are intentional:

DT: How did you come to be? Were you born?

uttowerbells: i was Architectichured in 1937 but its spirit is eternal,, that is how long i have been bound to this concreteform

DT: Tell me a little about yourself.

uttowerbells: concrete, verytall,, grappling with being inanimate :/

DT: Now you have access to Twitter. What has that been like?

uttowerbells: it is hard to use internet without “thumbs”” but i do it so theKids will relate to me and also be cause  i am alone some times but not online ever usually 🙂

DT: You’re kind of a big deal on Twitter and around campus. How does that make you feel as a solitary being?

uttowerbells: like i am screaming into the void but a slightly bigger void than if no twitter

DT: What do you like to do in your free time? Any hobbies?

uttowerbells: as a keeper of time through bell,, i can tell u than no time is free

  (( but also i stand and ding a lot ))

DT: What do you hate?

uttowerbells: intolerance and al so that concrete is often itchy

DT: Do you have a gender?

uttowerbells: concrete mostly

DT: How has fame been treating you?

uttowerbells: which one is that?

DT: How do you feel about the UT students?

uttowerbells: i cannot “”feel”” but i worry for my small fast friends

DT: What is your favorite song to ding? Why?

uttowerbells: the one that goes digdingDONGDOng dingdingsingdingdingdingdingdigDONGdiDONGbingbingboooongding     DONG ring

DT: Tell me about “Gerald, the kind old man with hooks for hands that kisses (your) bells.”

uttowerbells: his hooks are cold but his heart is worm

DT: If there was one thing you could change, what would it be?

uttowerbells: Probable that the small and tiny mortal friends stop to hating eachother with big words andguns and also maybe i could feel love 1or2 times

DT: What is your favorite part about inhabiting the tower bells?

uttowerbells: People point at  me and say “ look, there it is, all tall and beautiful up there ! “” and sometimes they smile someties with their mouths when i yell every 15minute

DT: Can you teach me to be internet famous?

uttowerbells: , my advice is that,, when you want to move or yellmore but you cannot do that rightthen instead use  words to do it instead &and some times twitter likes it

DT: Anything you’d like to add?

uttowerbells: Pleaseyell this newspaper ((wholething)) up to me so i can hear this when it is published please thankyou

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Q&A: UT tower bells answers everything from its origins, gender to campus fame