Ok, so the internet is rife with pranksters (hello, Jimmy Kimmel!)—some ingenious, most ineffectual. No doubt about it, Utah Valley students Andrew Hales and Stuart Edge known as "LAHWF" fall into the latter category.
In a social experiment-cum-gag, the pair scanned the halls of the University, preying on, mainly, unsuspecting girls. In one video the guys literally and figuratively creep up behind young women and try to sweep them off their feet. In the other, claiming a bogus cultural link, they attempt to kiss women first on the cheeks, before moving in on the mouth.
According to the article in Slate, both experiments are lame, bordering on "rapey," and disturbing if only because most young women fail to thwart off the creepy advances of the strangers.
In fact, usually awkward giggling ensues, as the girls try (feebly) to ward off the guys' advances. Some actually appear flattered by the attention. I admit I was disturbed at how easily most of the young women laughed off, or even played along with, the unwanted advance.
Interestingly, when the guys approached other dudes in the kiss experiment, they reacted with total nonchalance—and confidence—before walking on.
Judge for yourself. Are the videos a useful social experiment or a promotion of sexual assault on campus, as some commenters have claimed?
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