Instead of waiting for cupid's arrow to strike, some students are taking matters into their own hands.
With Valentine's Day on the horizon, a collection of about 60 students mingled underneath red and white decorations at the first annual Undergraduate Speed Dating event. The fundraiser was held Feb. 10 in the Great Hall.
Students purchased $10 tickets to participate in eight pre-arranged, seven-minute dates, which included refreshments and drinks.
First-year graduate students from the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy organized the event to finance their upcoming unpaid summer internships-a graduation requirement that for some can become a financial burden.
Organizers said they extended the Graduate Speed Dating event-held annually for the past five years-to undergraduates in hopes of raising more money.
"We heard there was a market for [undergraduates]," said Emily Wei, a first-year public policy studies graduate student. "This is our first event, and we're trying to make it just more of a fun event."
Participants filled out surveys to indicate 10 personality traits from a list of 32 that best represent themselves and their ideal dates. The results were then entered into the "Love Machine"-a laptop programmed to set up each individual with eight potential matches, said Mattia Landoni, a first-year public policy graduate student.
Two women sat at each of the 17 tables decorated with candles and balloons for the entire two-hour event, while the men moved about the tables to join their dates. At the end of the eight dates, each student filled out papers indicating their preferences for each of their suitors and turned them in on the way out.
If two individuals found each other agreeable, the organizers sent the students e-mails with each other's contact information.
"We had a couple actually get married once a couple years ago," Wei said. "That's our selling point, 'Yeah, we know people who got married from this event!'"
Some students registered for the event hoping to meet new people.
"It's kind of tough to meet girls on campus with all the work and time commitment," said freshman Matt Miniat.
Other students participated because they were curious about the process. "I had seen funny speed dating scenes in movies like The 40 Year Old Virgin and Hitch, so I was intrigued," sophomore Catherine Guo noted. "I didn't have high expectations going in, but I thought it was a fun hour and a half."
Approximately 190 graduate students purchased $15 tickets for the two graduate student sessions, which were held Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life.
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