29 Comments
Everyone has mocked the Social Experiment. But a few brave souls are out to prove the doubters wrong with a sprinkle of Socialism. Ian Kwok and company have started a campaign to win the Social Experiment collectively and donate their $500 winnings to charity. They call their radical display of unity The Socialist Experiment. “Let’s face it,” the group’s Facebook page reads, “the premise of the Social Experiment is well-intentioned but somewhat misguided. It’s not that Columbia students aren’t capable or willing to socialize, but rather they don’t feel the tight-knit sense of community that would warrant elevator conversations.”
Ian Kwok told Bwog in an email that he thinks “the original positive message of the experiment seem[s] to have been lost.” Ian talked to Ben and Markrete, the organizers of the Social Experiment, and realized they all have similar goals for a community-oriented event on campus. Ben and Markrete are totally on board with the Socialist Experiment, though others accused the renegade social scientists of cheating. Ian stressed that he respects the initiative of the Social Experiment’s organizers. “It’s unfortunate that their message has been so distorted, and hopefully through the Socialist Experiment we can refocus on the real issues; community and having some ol’ school good times.”
Here are the details from the Facebook page:
Email socialist.experiment@gmail.com when you discover a password. Include your name, the name of the password holder, and, of course, the password in the email.
The Socialists will pool all the passwords and put their winnings to good use. Feel free to suggest possible charities in the comments!
Clarification: The original Facebook page linked above said that the Socialist winnings would go to a foosball table. Facebook commenters suggested the money should go to charity, and Ian agreed. So now it really does go to a good cause!
Image via Wikimedia Commons
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29 Comments
@Anonymous I heard the group emailed people asking for passwords and to keep feeding them passwords for a “good cause” which was a foosball table. How stupid does this group think columbia kids are? Give us your passwords so that we win $500 and can enjoy a foosball table in our EC suite?
@Anonymous sure, it sounds nice to donate any sum of money to charity. but why would you need to get it by winning a game put on by res life for the student body? as a social experiment participant, i’m discouraged from playing and much less enthusiastic about the entire experiment now that i know 70 people are simply giving each other their passwords. if you want to raise money for a charity, that’s great. but don’t ruin the fun of a competition in a game that is meant to be a fair challenge for individuals. i think it’s clear that this is not the way the game was intended to be played and that the socialist experiment is inconsiderate of the hundreds of individuals competing on their own as well as the res life staff who worked to create and promote the experiment.
@Dear Bwog, Socialism ≠ Communism or money handouts.
@Anyone who trusts this group is an idiot. They’re “going to vote at the end on the appropriate act of charity”? That incredibly sketchy promise, when paired with the fact that they haven’t removed from the Facebook page their intent to buy a foosball table, makes me highly suspicious of where the money will be going.
@Don't you think they’re held accountable because they put their names on the group? This group isn’t a seedy governmental organization. It’s a ban of students who are going to go uphold the collective mission of the 70 sum people in the group, foosball table or not.
@socialism IT’S A PARTY!
@Anonymous Ian, you’re pretty awesome.
(If you weren’t so weird, I would be head over heels for you.)
@Ian You’re so awesome.
(I am head over heels for you [platonically speaking]. Even if you walk way too f-ing fast.)
@@ Anonymous http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzbURUrgQao
Meditation on bag of dicks eating and sucking.
@Anonymous Pretty lame idea but wow, NYPost can eat a bag of dicks.
@Anonymous mine was parachute…
and if admin’s so serious about us being social, how about they stop breaking up EC parties the second us students actually decide to socialize…fucking stupid
@But seriousla you guys, De ja vu! i’ve seen this argument before!
@Anonymous mine was jacket
@jacket Mine was jacket too!!
@Devil's Advocate I’m confused how the people who are against this are turned into the greedy ones. Doesn’t the person who wants everyone to give him passwords so he can buy himself a foosball table count as the greedy one? And would this be viewed differently if the competition were a scavenger hunt, and they decided to form one big team so that they could get all of the items on the list?
I’m also confused as to how a foosball table is going to build a Columbia community…
I also don’t think anyone ever said Columbia Kids don’t socialize, so I don’t know where that’s coming from.
-Capitalist.
@capitalist someone should run against social experiment to get the money! competition
@seriousla housing are a bunch of muppets
@Hooah This person is talking to himself. Perhaps he needs the social experiment?
@prophet this is not going to go down well with housing
@laurel mine password was laurel
@But seriousla you guys, The prompt was “Have you heard of the social experiment?” to which you would respond your password. I mean how fucking retarded is that? That isn’t a slight iota of a conversation, way to be awkwardly social.
@Ian You rock! Columbia loves you baby!
@Ian Thanks, Karen.
@well my password was gloves
@Anonymous lies
@You know, The Columbia Spectator is technically a non-profit. They could use some cash.
@Anonymous A foosball table for EC doesn’t count as charity.
@donate the money to planned parenthood! or the ISO, or Hamas. or whatever is in line with some point of your agenda
@I love Ian Kwok. He is a cutie :P