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The screen overhead flashes Question 14: “What’s your favorite dream vacation?” One male speed dater can’t help but chuckle to himself.
“I kind of find this hilarious,” he says as he grabs a mint.
He was one of 40 students who speed dated Friday night in the dimly lit Prince George’s room in Stamp Student Union, an event sponsored by the Thai Student Association.
Cinema-goers have watched some of their favorite movie stars struggle in awkward, forced social situations like speed dating in movies such as Hitch and The 40 Year Old Virgin. This is the first time the Thai Student Association has brought the concept of speed dating, pervasive in romantic comedies, to the campus.
In the age of rapidly advancing technology and 24-hour information, some relationship experts have questioned the validity of speed dating.
“If something starts from speed dating, it usually fizzles away,” said Diana Kirschner, a psychologist and love expert based in New York who counsels daters from ages 20 to 57. Kirschner said based on her experience, she’s “not seeing that good of a result from” speed dating because people can’t convey who they really are in three-minute intervals.
“I think it’s pretty much easy to meet people [on the campus], but through casual stuff like parties and a network of friends, not forced stuff like this,” said Jason Cheung, a junior architecture major who participated in the event.
The No. 1 way to meet people is through a social network of family and friends, but if a person puts enough energy into online dating, it can also be successful, Kirschner said. “In college there’s all different rules,” she said.
College students who participated in the event struggled to define the college dating scene.
The Thai Student Association wanted to reach out to students looking for a unique dating experience.
Guys in crisp dress shirts gelled their hair while ladies donned flowy skirts and figure-flattering sweaters. “I’ve seen some people that dressed up real nice and I feel bad,” said Anthony Abraham, a senior computer science major with curly blond locks who wore a vintage caramel brown leather jacket and brown Converse.
Each dater was assigned a number and a list of the other participants’ numbers. They noted whether they were interested after three minutes of socializing.
After about an hour of socializing one-on-one, the daters mingled while club’s officers compiled the requests and made envelopes for the daters with contact information for those who received requests.
Participants paid $3 to attend the event. The proceeds benefited Hurricane Katrina.
Most participants agreed at the end of the night that they met a couple good friends but didn’t see any lasting romantic relationships materializing.
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