Find someone for you at the Valentine’s Day speed dating event

Kendra Alley

Valentine’s Day can be a downer when you are living the single life, but there is something for all the single ladies and gentlemen to do that will put a spring back in their step. The Instant Dating Club will be hosting a Valentine’s speed-dating event.

“The cool part of Instant Dating is not only do you meet a lot of other singles in one night, but it is a lot of fun because you meet a variety of people you wouldn’t normally have met on campus or wouldn’t normally have talked to,” said Heather Patterson, president of the Instant Dating Club.

Upon arrival, participants get a nametag and a number, which helps your dates remember who you are and if they want to take you on a second date. The blind dates are three minutes long, so having some questions prepared to ask your suitors may be wise.

“I didn’t think it was hard to strike up a conversation, although sometimes it got monotonous with the typical ‘Where are you from? What year are you? What’s your major?’ type of questions,” said Haley Wakefield, senior in hotel, restaurant and institution management who has participated in Instant Dating before.

Valentine’s Day is the biggest speed dating event for the club, expecting more than 200 students. So, there are decent odds that you will meet a guy or gal you are interested in or possibly the man or woman of your dreams to ride off into the sunset with.

“We have tracked the success of the event in the past and found that 85 percent of all people who attended had at least one mutual match. Within two weeks after the event at least 60 percent of the participants had been on at least one date with a match,” Patterson said.

As long as you bring yourself and some good conversation to the event, you have a good chance of ending up with a date. However, if things don’t work out you don’t have to worry about feeling rejected because the club does all of the matching after the event has ended.

“I had one match, and we ended up going on a coffee date. Things didn’t work out between us, but it was fun while it lasted,” Wakefield said.

“As we say, ‘Come for fun, stay for love.’ If you’re single on Valentine’s Day, Instant Dating is the best place to be,” Patterson said.