Many students cringe at the idea of speed dating. The thought of forced conversation with strangers, instant judgment and awkward silences is completely unappealing. But to others, including us at the Daily, speed dating is an interesting social experiment intended to keep participants on their toes. And for those fed up with living on a dating-deprived campus, the concept presents a unique opportunity.
It was with these possibilities in mind that the Features editors set out to organize our own speed dating event here at Tufts, just in time for Valentine's Day. A group of 12 women and 11 men were brought together in a classroom in Eaton Hall last weekend to give speed dating a try and, hopefully, to let the love flow.
Participants arrived with an array of expectations, and they were searching for different things in the event.
"A wife," sophomore Eli Cushner joked. "Well, my parents wanted to arrange my marriage, so I thought I'd take it into my own hands." Still, Cushner admitted that he was open to the possibility of meeting someone romantically.
Many of the other participants brushed off the chance of encountering a serious potential love interest and instead thought it would be just a fun experience.
"I thought it would be sort of funny, like a good story," sophomore Jordyn Wolfand said. "It's always great to meet new people."
Originally started by a rabbi in the late 1990s as a way for Jewish singles to meet, speed dating has taken off in popularity as an event for other religious and cultural organizations as well as unaffiliated groups.
Although the guidelines differ from one speed-dating event to the next, generally, men and women rotate through a series of three- to eight-minute "dates," hoping to make a positive and lasting first impression while judging others based on theirs. At the end of the event, participants indicate with whom they would be interested in exchanging contact information and whether there is a "match" with another participant, and this information is submitted to the coordinators of the event.
The idea behind speed dating is that people decide if they are romantically compatible very quickly; the concept allows singles to chat for just long enough to determine whether there is enough chemistry between them to consider meeting again.
Participants also tend to consider this environment preferable to yelling over loud music at a bar or frat party, and they benefit from not having to reject others in person. Additionally, speed dating introduces people who would not normally strike up a conversation in a different setting.
Freshman Charlotte Karrlsson-Willis said that she had signed up with a friend after seeing the announcement on TuftsLife.com.
"It reminded us of a ‘Gilmore Girls' episode, so we thought it would be fun," she said. "[I thought it would] be a fun and semi-awkward time."
Despite the somewhat bizarre concept of organized interaction among strangers, the event ran smoothly. As the men rotated from one woman to the next every four minutes, conversation was relatively relaxed, and there were plenty of smiles.
Freshman Scott McArthur had a laid-back attitude going into the event and found it easy to talk with everyone.
"I was just expecting to have a good time, not to meet anyone, so there wasn't much pressure," he said.
Cushner, on the other hand, prepared a little in advance.
"I admit, I thought of questions in the shower and Googled speed dating tips," he said. "One question, though, was, ‘Do you want to have children?' so I skipped that one."
At the end of the 12 rounds, all of the participants were asked to check off names of other students with whom they thought they were compatible. When all lists were tallied, a total of 22 "matches" were made, and numbers were exchanged accordingly. As for following through and calling matches, participants had mixed ideas.
"I'm going to call one girl, and probably invite her to coffee. The rest were my residents, and it'd be kind of awkward to date my residents," said Cushner, a resident assistant in Tilton Hall.
The Features editors were later informed that Cushner is looking forward to a lunch date with the woman in question.
McArthur, however, did not go into speed dating with the intention of meeting someone special.
"I think [speed dating] can give an OK initial impression, but you need more time to make an actual judgment," he said.
Junior Laina Rosebrock did not take her matches too seriously either.
"I wasn't expecting anything," Rosebrock said. "It was better for meeting new people as friends, not dates. It's an awkward concept for college kids; it's more for older singles to find dates."
Even Cushner agreed that speed dating seems intended for an older audience.
"If you do it when you're in college, it's kind of funny," he said. "But when you're 30, well, you're thinking about eHarmony[.com]."
