Sovereignty and Cruelty

I decided to start including more multimedia elements in my written articles. Check out the talk I covered for Cultural Studies recently, which I've posted below.

Catherine Kellogg is truly an inspirational and innovative speaker.

On Wednesday, January 28, Kellogg presented a spirited talk on the death penalty, solitary confinement, and sovereignty as part of the Cultural Studies Speaks Seminar Series. She attempted to map the language surrounding the use of certain terminologies such as “cruel”, “unusual” and “inhuman.”

She started off the talk with an image from the eighteenth century of the New Gate Prison in London at the Old Bailey.

“What’s about to happen here?” she asked a room filled with eager Cultural Studies students and faculty.

 “A murder is about to happen here. What you see are two people about to be executed. I’m interested in looking at what makes this murder not criminal,” she stated.

According to Kellogg, acts of violence considered legitimate, such as the murder she is referring to, happen because of the word, “sovereignty.”

She then proceeded to narrate the story of a famous hangman, William Calcraft, an executioner at Newbury who was famous for a kind of incompetence. Calcraft was incompetent at weighing and measuring the body of the person about to be executed. Kellogg explained this concept well in the video below, and talked about how she is interested in examining how sovereignty and cruelty relate to each other.

Coming from a political studies background, Kellogg talked about how she is drawn to critical theory and to symptomatic reading.

“There are certain symptoms I want to look at. What are they? It’s the killing of African Americans with impunity; it’s the missing and murdered aboriginal women; it’s the CIA interrogating illegal combatants; it’s the changing carceral logic and the death penalty. I will look at some of them and all of them,” she said.

Drawing on Thomas Hobbs’s concept of state and power, Kellogg proceeded to talk about the modern state and how it exercises enormous power over life and death.

“So what puts a limit on this power over life and death? What draws a line between legitimate force and illegitimate violence?” she inquired.

She specifically referred to the language surrounding the words “cruel” and “unusual.” She stressed that this language came from the 1689 English Bill of Rights and finds itself being repeated in various documents today such as the Eighth Amendment to the American Constitution and Section Twelve of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“There’s something about cruelty that is repeated. In order for it to be repeated, it requires procedure. So it’s a term associated with evil and circulates in a discourse of morality. I’m not interested in the moral or religious notion of this term. I’m interested in its psychoanalytic notion. What is it that Freud was trying to say when talking about cruelty? For him, cruelty is repetition. It’s habit. It’s ageing,” said Kellogg.

(A slide from Kellog’s presentation, containing the single word, “Cruelty.”)

 Kellogg emphasized that although cruelty can be related to bloodiness and violence, it can also be linked to bloodlessness. She stressed specifically on the cold efficiency of certain execution methods such as electrocution as important to political, philosophical and moral discourses.

“It is forgotten that the guillotine was introduced in France and used as a means of execution as a more humane mode of execution- it was supposedly painless. Its invention and adoption throughout France are symptomatic of modern or post revolutionary death penalty. It evolved out of an anesthesial logic. This is apparent in the US where lethal injection was introduced in 1977 one day after the Supreme Court lifted the moratorium on executions,” she said.

(Here, Kellogg discusses the sudden unavailability of the drug, sodium thiopental, and botched executions in the US.)

For Kellogg, the ambiguity of the meaning of cruel and unusual requires looking at the origins of these words. She claimed that the words come from the 1689 Bill of Rights- a time when the slave trade was ripe and burgeoning.

“The term was meant to signify the limits of what masters could do to slaves, what men could do to women, and what it was possible to do to this new kind of property which was also human and alive,” she said.

The language of cruel and unusual travelled from seventeenth century England to the new colonies and found itself firmly embedded in the constitutions of the American colonies.

http://www.mixcloud.com/FilzaNaveed/catherine-kellogg-on-sovereignty-and-cruelty/

(Listen to Kellogg talk about the notion of civil and social death and the logic of punishment.)

Kellogg also brought in another variable into this whole debacle, which is mass incarceration. She talked about how the US imprisons more people than any other country, with most of the inmates being African American. But what about Canada? Kellogg claimed that Canada incarcerates citizens at rates that are among the highest in the world. In the case of aboriginal women, the statistics are staggering. Why is there this overrepresentation? What’s the purpose of prisons? For Kellogg, the answer lies in how settler colonialism is an ongoing project and is always about the containment of peoples.

Kellogg further argued that colonialism is in fact intensifying but so is the power of the resistance to it. She explained that looking at the renewed resource extraction in Canada can also give one a good picture of the ongoing colonial project. She claimed that the government is primarily concerned with indigenous people with regards to their location with respect to the production of wealth.

“So, in fact, the marginality and precariousness of indigenous life makes it an easy target and yet, it is also this marginality that makes it an important node in the circulation of wealth.”

Kellogg’s symptomatic reading tells us that even though the sovereignty of the state appears to be potent, the resistance to it is enormous as well.

Updates Coming Soon

I know I haven't been posting a lot on this blog since fall started. I've been super busy with my new role as the News Coordinator for CFRC radio's news show, Alternative Frequency. It has been an exciting time for me. I've been doing some investigative journalism to produce this news show twice a week. It's great to look at a story in depth, which is what Alternative Frequency is all about. Check out some of my work for the show here! Topics I've covered have included the mayoral candidate debates, media representations of female celebrities after the recent leakage of Jennifer Lawrence's nude photos, the rise of feminist ad-hoc activities on Queen's campus, Queen's homecoming, student entrepreneurship and much more!

                                              This is me, getting ready to produce the show.

Plans to rejuvenate and revamp this blog are in the works. I am shifting my main page to WordPress very soon, which will direct people to this blog. This will no longer operate as a portfolio as such but will most likely become a regular blog on reflections, movies, noteworthy pieces on societal issues etc.

I am looking to posting something very soon on how to implement digital initiatives such as podcasts, info-graphics and videos to rejuvenate your blog so stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, keep visiting every day to check out what I've been up to as a reporter. To access my coverage on the municipal elections for Kingston East News, check out my interviews with Countryside district candidates and Pittsburgh candidates. Happy reading! :)

On a Quest for Knowledge

I wrote this article for the School of Graduate Studies at Queen's University, which can be viewed here.

Charlotte Holmgren has an insatiable appetite for knowledge and information which are indispensable tools for empowering one’s self.

That is why she decided to apply for an MSc in Nursing (Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner) — a dual program which offers Holmgren the opportunity to gain both theoretical as well as practical skills.

Photo Courtesy of: Charlotte Holmgren

“When I started the program in 2013, it was still an option to simply do the nurse practitioner certificate program without doing a Masters. However, I was aware that other provinces required nurses to have a Masters in order to practice and that Ontario would be following suit. I wanted to be ahead of the game and I knew that the dual program at Queen’s University was the perfect fit for me,” she says.

Holmgren was also aware that any nurse practitioner needs to be able to use evidence based care and that aspect involves understanding research and literature. She was confident that the dual program at Queen’s would allow her to gain a solid understanding of the theoretical concepts in Nursing which she would then be able to apply in the field.

“What makes the dual Masters and Nurse Practitioner program different from a strictly thesis based Masters is that you are placed in a clinical setting where you can practice. In the thesis based program, students might be collecting data in a clinical facility but they don’t practice as a nurse practitioner student,” she says.

She claims that if you want to be a nurse practitioner, you need to not only be able to grasp information quickly and understand the theoretical underpinnings behind certain concepts, but you also need to be able to utilize that knowledge in a field that’s constantly evolving.

Always passionate about the health sciences, Holmgren moved to the Limestone City three and a half years ago after pursuing an undergraduate degree in Nursing from Western University. She started working as a nurse at the Kingston General Hospital. Her thirst for knowledge led her to research on Masters programs in Ontario and she immediately felt that Queen’s would be the right place for her.

“While I was researching potential Nursing programs, Queens kept coming out on top when I was weighing the pros and cons. I even talked to practising University of Ottawa students and they told me that Queens graduates are better prepared compared to others because they get a lot more clinical time which is so needed when you’re in a profession like Nursing.  That’s how you really learn things,” says Holmgren.

Having formed a strong bond with the Kingston community during her time here, Holmgren knew that her decision to choose Queen’s was a no brainer.

“I was scared that I might not get in because it’s a competitive program. They usually take in around 6 students per year for the combined Masters and Nurse Practitioner stream. Queens was my first choice so I was very happy to know that I got accepted. I've talked to people in similar programs in other universities and it seems like we do have the best opportunities and the most amount of placements. I would advise undergraduate students interested in applying to get to know their professors. In the end, it is their references that make a difference,” she remarks.

She also feels that the professors in her program have really helped her and her peers by fostering an environment where the students can openly approach the instructors for help.

“Our professors are always looking for opportunities for us and getting us involved in different things. It’s a rigorous program but you have all the support around you. That definitely helps a lot,” says Holmgren.

She admits that she didn't realize how much work it would be but strongly believes that it was worth every minute of her time.

“It’s pretty great to see how far my peers and I have come since September 2013 in terms of our knowledge and communication. I would highly recommend this program to aspiring Nursing students looking for higher education,” she says.

She looks forward to becoming a nurse practitioner after finishing her Masters but her long term goal is to teach at the post-secondary level.

“I’ve had a couple of opportunities to do nursing labs with students and I really enjoyed that interaction. So I’m really hoping to teach,” she says.

She’s excited about the future and is set to graduate in the summer of 2015.

“It has been a remarkable learning experience and there’s more to come. One can never stop learning,” she says.

Embarking on Innovative Adventures

This article appeared here

Photo Credits: Filza Naveed

Clare Barker loves to experiment, and try inventive things.

That is why she opted to study molecular biology, genetics, and classical languages during her undergraduate years at the University of Guelph, combining her love for both the arts and the sciences.

“I’ve always been drawn to both the arts and the sciences and I didn’t exactly take a typical route to get into Classics. I just really love to study what I’m passionate about so I’ve been going down all sorts of different rabbit holes. I ended up in Classical Languages and Classical Studies, and that was a fun process,” she says.

Fascinated with ancient literature and antique civilizations, Barker stumbled upon a delightful course on Hellenistic history during her undergraduate years, where she ended up looking at agriculture and the movement of plant and crop species after Alexander the Great’s conquest across the Middle East and over to India, and discovered her passion for papyrology.

“One of the main primary sources for my research paper was people during that time talking about sending different species to different places, and I was looking at grapes being brought into Egypt, and people talking about that in their personal letters, which is how I ended up looking at papyrus, and falling in love with it,” says Clare.

A second year MA student pursuing a degree in Classics, Clare Barker has had an adventurous time at Queen’s University.

                                         Clare at Queen`s

Drawn to the small Classics program at Queen’s, Barker knew she had made the right choice after consulting other students at the university who had pursued it during their undergraduate years, and given great reviews of the program.

“There are a number of places where you can do Classics in Canada, but the Queens program is fairly well known as a pretty small program where you get a lot of attention from your professors. The graduate program here also has some extremely good researchers such as Professor George Bevan, who’s my supervisor,” she says.

When she got in touch with professors at Queens, one of her questions, particularly for George Bevan was whether or not she would be able to study papyrology here, and when he said yes, Barker instinctively knew that this was the right place for her.

“Bevan had done his PhD at the University of Toronto, and was charged with organizing the photography of the papyrus collection and trying to find some people who would be interested in doing some more research on it because it hasn’t been published, described or catalogued before,” she says.

For Barker, the high intrigue in deciphering things that had never been read before or talked about in academia was exhilarating, and she jumped at the opportunity to become a part of such an innovative project, leading to her current research on describing and photographing papyri at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library at the University of Toronto.

Always looking to explore new frontiers, and expand her horizons, Barker knew she wanted to discover and get more out of her relationship with papyrology.

The opportunity to do just that arose when she received funding from SHRCC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council), and applied for the Michael Smith Foreign Study (MSFS) supplement, which is only available for SHRCC winners.

“A number of people told me that if I had the opportunity, I should apply for the MSFS because many people don’t apply for it at all. Some people can’t go for logistical reasons. You have to be gone for at least three months, and you usually have to make a trip out of the country,” she says.

To satisfy her own thirst for knowledge and new cultures, Barker knew that studying abroad for a semester would be an adventure she wanted to pursue and so she applied to Heidelberg University in Germany, one of the most innovative and renowned centres for papyrology research.

“It was definitely an amazing experience, and an excellent opportunity for me to practice my German as well. A lot of the papyrology lectures were in English. They make a lot of programs as accessible as they can, and encourage people speaking different languages to come and give lectures,” she says.

Mesmerized by the vibrant culture there, Barker returned to Queen’s refreshed and rejuvenated, having met some renowned researchers and teachers from all over the world.

Now almost near the end of her MA program at Queen’s, Barker is wistful at the prospect of leaving the place that has become home for her.

“The sense of community in my program is really great here at Queens. We have thirteen MA students, and I’ve had a really good experience getting to know them. It’s easy to get to know other people when you have a small close-knit program like that,” she says.

She loves the small classes, and bonds with her colleagues over translations of obscure texts, and admits that they are like her family.

So what’s the next adventure for Clare Barker?

“Maybe I’ll go to the US to study. Or maybe Europe. I’ve heard Hiedelberg is nice,” she says.

The possibilities are endless.

Weekend film project

This article appeared in The Queen's Journal

Travelling and self-exploration can lead to artistic inspiration.

That’s how Jonathan Klynkramer, ArtSci ’14, describes the idea for the script that won his short film The Path “Best Picture” and “Best Editing” awards at the 2014 Focus Film Festival. It will be shown next month at the Kingston Canadian Film Festival.

                                           Photo of Jonathan Klynkramer by Chloe Sobel

The Focus Film Festival is a Queen’s-based event that allows students from all faculties to cultivate their filmmaking talent and learn from each other.

Students are divided into teams of five and given a previously unreleased topic on which to make a film.

“It’s really intense and exciting,” he said.

Random groups are assigned Thursday night with a deadline of midnight on Sunday.

“The theme for this year was seven virtues and seven vices, and we were assigned to make a film on the virtue of temperance,” he said.

Following the film’s debut at Focus, the group submitted it to the Kingston Canadian Film Festival as a local short. It will play before the feature length film The Pin.

Klynkramer said he felt a bit alienated at first when he was assigned to a random group for Focus. He spent the previous academic year on exchange in India and, unlike many other students, had not participated in the Festival the year before.

“We gelled very well though, and my trip to India helped me come up with the element of meditation in the film,” he said.

“I took a meditation course in India towards the end of my trip. I had prayer mats and shawls lying around and I wrote the script with input from the group. It matched the theme of temperance and we were all contemplating going with some kind of American horror story initially.”

Directed by Klynkramer, The Path is a five-minute story about the journey of a wandering woman in search of happiness, played by Chelsea Marie O’Hara, ArtSci ’14. She is guided by a master, and has to ignore the seduction of a temptress on her journey.

The rest of the team was made up of fellow Queen’s students Chantelle Ng, ArtSci ’14, Hilary Smith, ArtSci ’14, Malcolm McKenzie, ArtSci ’17.

Klynkramer picked a location he was familiar with.

“It was shot at my grandparents’ house just outside of Kingston. They have a cabin in the woods near the lake. I wanted to use that as a location in the film for a while so we wrote the script with all that in mind,” Klynkramer said.

He said that teamwork was key in making the short film.

“Having a director who has a vision is essential. But it’s important to accept input from everyone in the group and to learn from each other,” he said.

Klynkramer said that whether someone has film experience or not, Focus Film Festival is a worthwhile experience.

“My advice to aspiring filmmakers is that they shouldn’t limit themselves to just class projects. Go out, make things on your own, and produce work. Whether it’s good or bad, it doesn’t matter. You learn from everything you work on,” he said.

A killer way to end the semester

This review was published in The Queens Journal

The dark and daring comical musical, Assassins, put on by the Queen’s Musical Theatre, aims to capture the fallacy of the American dream, and the culture of violence that pervades society.

Based on the idea by Charles Gilbert Jr., music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and the book by John Weidman, Assassins is a stunning musical performance that exposes the lives of nine individuals who assassinated or attempted to assassinate the President of the United States.

The dress rehearsal on the evening of November 26, was passionate and dynamic, filling the theatre with raw energy.

Performed in the Rotunda Theatre of Theological Hall, the location was ideal as the old building set the mood for taking the audience back in time to witness the assassination attempts of some of the most significant and memorable leaders of the United States.

Directed by Dylan On and produced by Tessa Burnside, the musical opened with a spectacular performance by the gun salesman who provides the characters with their weapons at the beginning of the show.

The performance was filled with vivacious enthusiasm and bold musical numbers that stay with you long after you leave the theatre.

The talented cast included a memorable performance by Luke Brown as the Proprietor with his cunning looks and the gargantuan moustache to go with it. John Wilkes Booth and Sam Byck were two of the most strikingly vivid characters with their animated performances.

Musical highlights were the soul saddening “Unworthy of Your Love,” and the vividly performed “Something Just Broke.” Filled with innuendo, “The Ballad of Guiteau,” was performed remarkably well by the character Charles Guiteau.

Dylan On’s unique directing is definitely worth mentioning, and there are certainly tremendous messages that are implicit underneath the quirky and passionate musical numbers.

The harsh reality that we live in a world of deep inequality and despair, which is hidden by the false illusion of freedom and democracy, especially resonates throughout the musical.

Themes of violence in the world, and the motives behind people’s violent acts committed in moments of despair, angst and frustration are also some other messages that the musical brings out beautifully.

Anarchist Emma Goldman’s brief appearance is memorable wherein she lectures the character Leon Czolgosz on the hypocrisy of governments with her remarkable quote, “They make us servants, Leon. We do not make servants of each other.”

“The Gun Song” is another remarkable number with powerful lyrics, and a coarse tone that reminds you of the hard labouring of the average working class man. “Everybody’s Got the Right,” is another song that captures the core themes of the show, reminding each person of the false promises of freedom made by American presidents.

A particularly comic scene depicts the witty and talented performances of the actors who play Squeaky Fromme and Sara Jane Moore as they quibble with each other, and Moore accidently spills her gun’s bullets upon encountering President Ford.

In short, Assassins beautifully seams together the disparate forces of comedic entertainment with political commentary, easing the tension between the two with witty musical numbers that reverberate with social satire.

A musical with a political message can never be easy to produce, and the entire production team and cast must be lauded in their efforts to bring forth such a strong and evocative performance.

Photo Credit: Sophie Barkham

The changing look of love

Queen’s brings hearts together, even after graduation.

For Martin Gerwin, ArtSci ’62, and his wife, Judith Rutledge, ArtSci ’62, a letter of condolence was the tool that allowed them to revive their old friendship.

“I knew Judith during my undergraduate years at Queen’s as we were both taking honours philosophy. Class sizes at that time were so small that it wasn’t hard to get to know each person quite well,” Gerwin said.

After graduating, they both ended up marrying different people and moving on with their lives, leaving Queen’s behind.

“My wife passed away later, and Judith got divorced. Judith’s sister … unintentionally brought the two of us together,” he said. “She heard about my wife passing away, and urged Judith to write a letter of condolence to me.”

The letter led to more communication, and to a reunion of the class of ’62 in August 2002, which Gerwin fondly recalls as his first date with Judith. In the spring of 2003, they were both married.

They agree that their Queen’s connection played a huge role in bringing them together, as they were both aware of each other’s personality due to the small class sizes.

As class sizes at Queen’s have expanded, online dating has replaced letters as a means of communication for romantic relationships.

For Ingrid Gagnon, ArtSci ’99, MA ’02, and her husband Edward Thomas, Sci ’06, MASc ’12, if it hadn’t been for online dating, they would probably have never met. They first met in 2007 through the online dating website eHarmony.

Gagnon didn’t know Thomas during her undergraduate years at Queen’s. Since she had pursued her undergraduate degree at the age of 24, she mostly spent time with graduate students who were her age, and was focused on her studies. Dating was the last thing on her mind.

It was after she pursued two degrees from Queen’s and was working on campus that she met Thomas. 

“eHarmony really does match you up with someone you’re compatible with to a large extent, at least in my case. After our second date, both Edward and I felt that we had a lot in common and that we didn’t want to see other people.” Gagnon and Thomas were both in their mid-30s and were looking for a meaningful relationship. At a canoeing trip in 2009, Thomas proposed to Gagnon on a cliff overlooking the sunset, and they married in later that year.

They were married at the University Club, located on campus on Stuart St.

“It seemed like the perfect place to get married because of our shared Queen’s connection,” Gagnon said.

Twenty-eight per cent of U.S. marriages began as relationships in college, according to a new Facebook study. And, the landscape of student romance is digitizing from what it once was.

For Gagnon, Queen’s has a special place in her heart as she met so many of her friends there, many of whom also chose to get married at Queen’s.

“Thinking about all of this really makes me believe that online dating worked out perfectly for us,” she said.

Gagnon and her friends aren’t the only ones with emotional attachments towards Queen’s, according to Queen’s Event Services Manager Jennifer Pete.

“Many Queen’s alumni have fond memories connected with Queen’s University which is a place where they studied for so long and met so many of their friends. As a result, many of them choose to get married on Queen’s campus,” she said.

It’s not only alumni who wish to solidify their marriages at Queen’s. Many staff and faculty, along with friends and family of alumni, choose campus as their location for tying the knot.

“For staff and faculty, it’s mostly pride in their employment at such a prestigious university … Of course, the fact that Queen’s is located amidst a gorgeous backdrop in picturesque Kingston definitely helps,” Pete said.

The most popular wedding venues on Queen’s campus include the University Club and the Donald Gordon Conference Centre near West Campus. Both hold wedding receptions throughout the year.

“For the venues that fall under the jurisdiction of Queen’s Events, the Ban Righ Dining Hall and Grant Hall are the most popular,” Pete added. “We also have a partnership with the Agnes Etherington Art Centre for wedding receptions, as well as Wallace Hall [in the JDUC], which we share with the Student Life Centre.” 

There have been quite a few creative weddings held on campus, Pete said. One in particular was a reception based on dragons and unicorns, with the bride and groom enjoying thrones as their seating.

It’s unclear, however, if the current generation shares this same passion for finding a meaningful relationship while studying at Queen’s.

The prevalence of hookup culture at most postsecondary institutions might suggest otherwise.

Shanlea Gordon, ArtSci ’11 and MA ’13, began pursuing qualitative research on hookup culture at Queen’s, which ultimately became her master’s thesis. After writing an undergraduate paper on dating violence and changes in courtship, she wanted to understand the changing dating rules and norms.

“There were dating rules and specific courtship behaviours in the early 19th century. It seems we don’t have many rules when it comes to pursuing romantic relationships anymore,” she said.

She stressed that even though most relationships on university campuses involve hookups, there’s ambiguity in literature regarding what “hookup culture” really is.

“In general, hookup culture can be defined as a heterosexual male and female engaging in drinking, meeting up at a party or a bar and engaging in sexual behaviour after. That can range from making out to sexual intercourse, to anything in between,” Gordon said.

According to her, some scholars believe that hookup culture became prevalent around the mid-1980s after the second feminist movement, but there hasn’t been much academic research done on it.

“I think it’s so prevalent because of the split gender ratio,” she said. “We have more females coming into undergraduate programs on campus as opposed to males,” she said. “If you look at it from an evolutionary perspective, some scholars would claim that because of this divide, females feel the need to engage in sexual activities in order to get the limited resource — which is the male.”

She also emphasized that even though most literature dealing with hookup culture and relationships focuses on heterosexual couples,LGBT communities also participate in hookup culture.

Hookup culture doesn’t always mean casual and meaningless relationships, said Gordon. Some of the people who indulge in hookup culture are actually hoping to find something meaningful.

“When we are talking about online dating, and Tinder in particular, there is this notion that Tinder is the new heterosexual app for hookups,” she said. “But, Tinder also gives one a chance to get to talk to another person while sober, and really get to know them.”

Tinder is a new dating app that matches users with people based on location, leaving them to select pictures of those who catch their eye. If both people “like” each other, it’s a match and they can start chatting.

Gordon noted that whatever your relationship status, we all need social interaction and intimacy. “You get more sex and better sex from a meaningful relationship rather than a casual hookup, and it ultimately boils down to how most people crave the emotional intimacy along with the physical intimacy,” she said. 

Gordon agreed that online dating and communication is something today’s generation is more comfortable with, and doesn’t discount it in any form.

“Tinder for example, really bridges the gap between meaningful relationships and hook-up culture,” she said.

The student population seems to have their own opinions about hookup culture and hot topic dating apps.

Hasina Daya, ArtSci ’14, believes that hookup culture at universities stems from people’s desire for instant gratification.

“My advice to people is to take their time and to not rush into any relationship impulsively. It’s also important to love yourself before you can love anybody else,” she said.

Efficiency is what’s driving students to search online for their significant others, according to Amal Nawal, ArtSci ’14.

“I think online dating sites are an excellent way to meet someone casually,” he said.

“People are resorting to it because it’s just so much easier.”

This article originally appeared here

Infographic by: Jonah Eisen