College Student In Trouble For Using Grindr In School Election

College Student In Trouble For Using Grindr In School Election

Grindr has expanded its services to include many things. Now, there's a real-time chat roll for immediate hookups (um, thanks Sniffies!), there are AI functions to auto hook up with other guys, there are travel resources to plan your trips, there are catfish protections, and more bells and whistles are coming. But election tools? That's a new one! Before you start your local political campaign on Grindr, be aware. You could get in trouble for it.

Callum O'Kelly is a student at Trinity College. He has learned all too well that Grindr should not be used for such purposes. O'Kelly was running for the president position for the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU). Well, Trinity College's electoral committee found that he was in breach of electoral guidelines for using his Grindr profile to promote his running. O'Kelly was found using his campaign poster as his profile pic. While we think that is smart and sexy, the school didn't think so. Apparently, Trinity College has a rule that you can only use social media platforms that the school uses. We guess Trinity College doesn't have a Grindr profile. LOL.

Reportedly, the student newspaper, Trinity News, released the info in an editorial story, including news of the infraction. O'Kelly fired back, saying mention of his Grindr profile was a breach of privacy. He is out and proud, but he believes someone's Grindr use should be a personal matter, especially since some men are still in the closet while using the app. He made a public statement, saying, “Reporting someone’s Grindr profile picture to the EC, the EC’s investigation, and Trinity News’ publication of this shows that Trinity still has a long way to go in navigating the sensitivities regarding queer students, and their safety.”

While we think O'Kelly's use of Grindr is crafty, he put it out there, making it a public matter, using materials from his election. He had to know that someone would notice. He was probably reported by a mean gay that he wouldn't hook up with. We applaud O'Kelly for his big balls in using Grindr, but another student had been penalized prior for using a dating app to promote their election. He should have known better. This isn't about any kind of homophobic reaction to the gay dating app; it is literally part of their rules that no dating apps can be used. O'Kelly did mention that the name of the dating app that the other student used was not used, but his Grindr use was clearly named. So, there is that. He should be treated just like any other student. O'Kelly further stated that Grindr is much more than a dating app; it is a networking resource for the queer community. Um, sure. We know what Grindr is for.

Since the incident, there has been a back and forth between O'Kelley's team and the electoral committee. O'Kelley has been restricted from campaigning in the final moments of the election.

What do you think?

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