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Meeting the girl or guy of your dreams while on a three-minute timer might seem daunting, but Friday Night Live took on the task.

Fifty students filed into Tangeman University Center on Friday night in hopes of finding a new companion via the popular phenomenon known as “speed dating.”

For three minutes each, 25 male and 25 female University of Cincinnati students tried to decipher if the short meeting was valuable enough to expand upon by gathering each other’s information.

In some cases, the process was a bit exhausting. Trying to make an impression in as little as 180 seconds can be very hard to do, several students said as they tried to avoid lulls in conversation and fight their “first date” jitters.

Kara Blackwell, a first-year English student, and Angeleah Wells, a third-year student studying social work, were both a little worn out at the end of the night, but both were still optimistic.

“The process was a little long-winded,” Blackwell said. “Having to start the same process over and over every three minutes — it became hard to not get a little tired. I did meet some nice, new people though, and I became better acquainted with some people that I already knew.”

Before the event even began, Wells laid out some pre-requisites for hopeful companions.

“My ‘go to’ question was to ask if they had a favorite book — more specifically, if they liked ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’” Wells said.
“That’s essential to my ‘boyfriend’ list.”

There were many people who wanted to get involved in this classic dating event, according to the UC Wellness program manager.

“Students actually had to register to participate, since we were only accepting 25 women and 25 men, ” said Erica Forrest, UC Wellness program manager. “Friday Night Live has done speed dating several times over the past years. It is always an enjoyable experience where students get to mix and mingle to meet new people.
It forces students to break out of their comfort zone and start up conversation with someone they don’t know.”

UC’s Programs and Activities Council provides UC students with a variety of fun events to stimulate community growth. They have events and entertainment in a variety of genres including film, comedic acts, concerts, speakers and novelty events.

“I’m new to campus, so I really needed to meet some new guys because there aren’t many in my major,” Wells said. “If there was another Speed Dating event, I would definitely come again if there was a new bunch of people. I always like meeting new people.”