Belmont Springs A Leak
- Andrew Steinhart
- 31 minutes ago
- 3 min read
All references to the Instagram account and ones like it in this article have been altered, as some may find the unaltered language offensive.
A Belmont student has been posting videos of himself urinating in public campus spaces as part of an internet trend that’s been spreading across colleges nationwide.
“Hopefully he never gets caught. Whoever this is can pee on some prominent landmarks around campus and they don’t abuse that ability,” said Asher Morrisroe, a Belmont student who follows the account on Instagram.
There are anonymous “p!sser” accounts at more than 50 schools across the U.S. The Boston College P!sser, who uploaded their first video on Sept. 1, was likely the origin of this trend. The original p!sser video now has more than 700,000 views, according to The Retrograde, the University of Texas at Dallas student newspaper.
The Belmont P!sser first posted on Sept. 10 in a short video where he urinates on the sidewalk next to a school flag.
“This is a warning. I will strike again,” said the p!sser in the post’s caption.
Since then, the p!sser has struck around once a week, captioning each post with the time and location of the leak. The videos are usually recorded just after midnight and take place outside dorms, school buildings and even campus monuments like the Freedom Plaza Memorial fountain.
“I have no idea who it is. I’m a huge supporter of his work and could even see myself getting involved with this one way or another,” said Bobby Hartrich, another Belmont student who follows the account.
The viral trend originates from the TV show “Dexter.” The show’s main character, Dexter, is a serial killer who hides his identity and evades justice. Most of these accounts embed their posts with audio from the show and call themselves the “Bay Harbor p!sser” in reference to the nickname for the show’s protagonist, the “Bay Harbor butcher.”
The profile picture for the Belmont P!sser is an AI-generated image of Dexter riding a bear and wearing a Belmont sweater.
“I’ll admit that the thought has crossed my mind of trying to stake out the Belmont P!sser, but it would be weird to wait around campus all night trying to catch someone taking a leak,” Morrisroe said.
After several attempts to contact the Belmont P!sser, he has yet to make a statement.
“I wish I knew them. Actually, I wish I had that idea while I was still there,” said Tommy Yoder, a Belmont graduate following the account.
Unfortunately, this trend isn’t harmless, especially for the account owners. The Murfreesboro Police Department charged Jace Colby, a Middle Tennessee State University student who ran a p!sser account, with public indecency on Sept. 5.
If caught, anyone who engages in this trend risks repercussions both academically and legally, all backed by video evidence that they chose to upload.
“Vandalism of university property is subject to disciplinary action,” according to Belmont’s code of conduct, the Bruin Guide.
The most harmful charge someone could get for urinating in public is indecent exposure, said Chief Mark Labbé, head of campus security at Belmont.
“People need to be careful when they do these silly things,” said Chief Labbé. “The act can get you on a sex offender registry.”
It takes three counts of indecent exposure for someone to qualify as a sex offender under Tennessee law, according to an article by attorney Bernie McEvoy.
The University of Texas at Austin P!sser, who has more than 13,000 followers on Instagram, has yet to delete any of his 15 videos – each of which could be considered a separate offence.
“It’s fair that somebody faces consequences for this, but I don’t think it’s fair if it’s something that follows them the rest of their life,” said Chief Labbé.
Despite his sympathy, Chief Labbé still has a strong conviction about how Belmont security should handle this issue. “If it’s something that we run into or are able to identify the person, it’s not going to go well for them,” he said.
Some p!ssers take precautions to ensure they don’t face consequences for engaging in the trend.
“For legal reasons, I use a water bottle,” said the Mankato P!sser in an interview with The Reporter at Minnesota State University.
The University of Texas at San Antonio P!sser, an account that had more than 50,000 followers on Instagram at its peak, took down all its videos on Sept. 12 and left only an apology post saying, “It is finished. I was caught and I take full responsibility.” No information has come out about how the p!sser was caught and what punishment they face. “For anyone thinking of making copycat pages, please stop. Do not risk getting yourself in trouble over something so dumb.”
Despite the nationwide hunt, dozens of piddle peddlers are still at large, including Belmont’s
own.
“I’m really just interested in the saga,” said Morrisroe. “This isn’t the p!sser that Belmont wants, but it’s the p!sser that Belmont needs.”
This article was written by Andrew Steinhart