Speed dating aims to bring individuals together in comfortable environment

Speed dating aims to bring individuals together in comfortable environment

by Rachel GullStaff Writer

On Tuesday, Feb.12, Simpson’s Residence Hall Association will be hosting a campus-wide speed dating event.

Speed dating is an event which enables a person to meet several potential matches in a very short time. In Simpson’s case, a girl and a guy will partner up and spend two minutes learning about eachother one-on-one. After that “date”, everyone will alternate partners, and a new date will begin, giving each participant a chance to meet several new people in a single night.

“I think that speed dating is a great idea, because we always see people on campus who might be interesting, but we don’t always get to meet them,” junior RHA Member Maggie Anderson said. “This could be a great opportunity to get acquainted with people that we don’t get to meet all the time.”

RHA will send e-mails to the entire campus inviting students from each housing unit and grade to participate. Students will have to R.S.V.P. to register for the event. Then, on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m., participants will meet in Camp Lounge for their “dates.”

The night will begin with snacks and drinks, giving everyone a chance to mingle. Each participant will be equipped with a nametag to identify them to potential matches, and everyone will also have a form to make notes about each of their dates.

At the end of the night, participants will secretly turn in the names of the dates that they were interested in getting to know better. If one person turns in a second’s name but the second doesn’t turn in the first’s name, the second person won’t be informed of the first’s interest. However, if two participants are interested in each other, RHA will let each person know that they had a match with the other.

Also, one female and one male will each win a drawing for a gift certificate to a Des Moines restaurant.

RHA is an on-campus group that occupies itself mainly with setting up events that bring the campus together. They want to introduce people that may not be a part of their everyday lives.

“We just want to get campus cohesion,” freshman RHA Member Greg Rhoulac said. “RHA sponsors activities that give people a chance to get together and get to know people that they might not see every day.”

RHA meets every other Sunday, and is responsible for planning activities like the Casino Night recently held in the BSC. However, this group hadn’t been utilized until recently.

“RHA was restarted this year to fulfill two main purposes: to be the voice of residential students and to hold events that bring the campus together,” Luke Behaunek, area coordinator for Buxton, Picken, Worth, and the theme houses and RHA adviser, said. “Our programming goals involve creating a fun and comfortable environment, and I think that this speed dating event is a great example of a fun but safe opportunity to meet people around campus.

Behaunek would love to have the input of individuals in the campus community about possible events that could take place in the future.

“We’re always open to suggestions, so if you have a fun idea, let an RHA member know,” Behaunek said.