The stage is set: One person is sitting at the bar and another walks over to join. Soon enough it is evident that one of them is far more interested. The question remains, how does someone handle that kind of a situation? Students at Iowa State share their thoughts.

“Well, since I have a boyfriend, if someone is just merely overstepping their boundaries, I’ll just talk about my relationship or come right out and say I have a boyfriend. I’ve learned being mature and honest is the best policy. I don’t want someone to waste my time, and I don’t want to waste theirs either. I would say just be straight up and say it’s not working.”

–Katie Reed, junior in advertising

“Personally, I ran away at the bar once. I went to the bar with friends because my girlfriend at the time was underage. This girl had a birthday, and she asked me for shots. So, me being a polite person, accepted and bought us two shots. We take them but then she goes to her friends, ‘This guy is buying shots, come over!’ So I close my tab real fast because she was mooching, and I ran away to the opposite side of the bar.”

–Keaton Mohr, senior in public relations

“Well, if I’m being totally honest, if a guy is being super persistent or asking for my number or something right off the bat, I would usually just lie and say I have a boyfriend because it’s the easiest way to get him to leave you alone.”

–Katie Bauer, senior in finance

“Don’t sit by them when you hang out with mutual friends. Don’t initiate conversation, and put headphones in as a way to ward off potential discussions.”

–Sofia Jordan, senior in design

“I was at Paddy’s, and this girl came up to me. I didn’t realize what she was saying, and I made my hand into a phone and said, ‘sorry, I gotta take this,’ and walked away and went to another bar.”

–Turner Sundby, senior in marketing

“I first politely try to show them I’m not interested, and if they don’t get the hint, I either tell them I have a boyfriend or have a friend come and tell me we need to leave for some reason.”

–Sydney Goff, junior in interior design

In the event that someone is being too persistent, seek help from friends or staff around. In more threatening cases, feel free to contact Iowa State Police or Ames City Police.