Matan J. Cohen

Catfish on Campus: Nev Schulman

February 18, 2013 7:00PM

 

This was the first program ever to sell out at the Robert M. Smith Student Center. The event filled over 900 seats and we had to close the doors with a few hundred more students awaiting to see Nev Schulman. Nev is the star of MTVs new hit TV show Catfish. 

 

Cat-fish (kat-fish) noun - a person who pretends to be someone they’re not, using social media to create a false identity, particularly to pursue deceitful online romances.

The University Program Board presents Nev Schulman on February 18^th at 7pm in the Smith Student Center Ballroom!  With the increasing popularity of online dating and Schulman’s documentary and MTV show,, Schulman will present a riveting lecture on his experiences, social media and the success of Catfish: The TV Show with the slogan “It was love at first type but will it be love at first sight?” Doors for the show at SRU will open at 6:00pm.

Rogue Pictures and Relativity Media came out with a thriller of a documentary in 2010 called “Catfish,” which was based on Schulman. “Catfish: The TV Show” tackles the mystery and misconceptions of dating using digital technologies. Social media and online dating services have created the opportunity for people to connect with anyone across the world, which presents the chance for people to develop relationships with these strangers.

In the MTV show, Catfish, Schulman, who was previously a victim of an online love drama uses his personal experiences, documentarian skills, and ability to detect and sense situations to find the truth within real online relationship stories. Students find the show to be unpredictable and sometimes shocking. This statistic according to an MTV survey of adults 18-24 years old may also be shocking; 1 in 4 has online dated, 1 in 2 has “a friend” who does it and, in the past three years, traffic to top 10 online dating sites has tripled.

Schulman’s lecture will be free for SRU students with their student I.D., and $$$ for the general public. Listen to the star and host of MTV's hit series Catfish discuss his experiences and perspectives on this evolving medium. Tweet @SRUPB with #AskNevFeb18 to enter your questions into the program topic list.

Schulman is a New York City photographer and filmmaker, and the youngest member of Supermarch. His photography has appeared in magazines and newspapers such as Vogue, The New York Times, Lucky, New York magazine, the New York Sun and Dance Magazine.

A reality thriller that is a shocking topic of our times, Catfish is a roller-coaster story of love, trickery and charm within a maze of online scheming. The film was produced by academy award nominated filmmaker, Andrew Jarecki and was executive produced by Brett Ratner. The University Program Board (UPB) is a division of the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership. UPB is structured into four committees: Concerts and Comedians, Speakers, University Events, and Marketing. The organization provides valuable leadership and educational opportunities for students to practice and build off other students.