Digital dating

Published in the April 2, 2008, Issue

Art, from personal ads

"I Want You to Want Me," an interactive installation by Jonathan Harris ’02 and Sep Kamvar ’99 that explores the search for love in the world of online dating, is on view at New York's Museum of Modern Art, through May 12, as part of the museum's exhibit Design and the Elastic Mind.
The installation, displayed on a 56-inch touch screen, periodically collects data from online dating sites. Hundreds of blue and pink balloons float on the interactive screen, and each balloon represents a dating profile. Viewers can touch any balloon, causing a sentence to appear. The sentences begin with phrases like "I am ..." or "I am looking for ...."
On a Web site describing the work, Harris and Kamvar wrote that "'I Want You to Want Me' aims to be a mirror, in which people see reflections of themselves as they glimpse the lives of others." By Katherine Federici Greenwood

Photo: An image of "Who I am," the first movement of "I Want You to Want Me." Each balloon is a real dating profile. Image courtesy of Jonathan Harris ’02 and Sep Kamvar ’99

Names in the News

In an interview published April 4, Michael Aron *70, senior political correspondent for the NJN radio and television network, told The Times of Trenton that New Jersey politicians often follow a pattern of good intentions and bad timing. ... Ilya Shapiro ’99, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, critiqued the U.S. policy on H-1B visas - given to skilled workers - in a National Review column. ... Composer Steven Gerber *71's new CD, Spirituals, features 10 brief compositions for string orchestra and draws on African influences. ... In an NPR story about China's public image abroad, human rights campaigner John Kamm ’72 said that Chinese officials are more concerned with the opinion of the Chinese people, which remains positive. ... Woodrow Wilson School Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter ’80, who is living in Shanghai during a sabbatical year, described the contrast between Asian optimism and American pessimism in an April 14 NPR commentary. ... In The Hill, Democratic pollster Mark Mellman ’78 dissected the mistakes of presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton. "Clinton did have a macro-message early on -- experience," Mellman wrote. "It was just the wrong message. Every poll for two years demonstrated that Democrats prefer change over experience by 2 to 1."

Women's lacrosse sprints to 10-0 start

With an impressive 18-9 win over Harvard April 12, Princeton women's lacrosse improved to 10-0, its best start since 2004, when the Tigers were a perfect 16-0 in the regular season. Princeton, ranked No. 2 in the April 14 Inside Lacrosse poll, faces three top-10 teams in its final six games: No. 6 Penn (April 16 at 7 p.m. in Class of 1952 Stadium); No. 3 Maryland (April 30 at 7 p.m. in Class of 1952 Stadium); and No. 8 Georgetown (May 3 at 1 p.m. in Washington, D.C.).
The Tigers' attack has shown remarkable balance and accuracy in the first 10 games. Five players have scored 16 or more goals, and 52 percent of the team's shots have reached the back of the net, best in the Ivy League.