2008 Woodie Awards
Speed friending new way to meet people
Tricia Ellis
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: News
Feeling glum at the prospect of spending Valentine's Day alone?
Well there's a new way to spend Valentine's Day finding love and friendship.
Speed friending, an event put on by Shoemaker Hall Community Council, is taking place from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Thursday in the Atwood Memorial Center Ballroom and is open to everyone, free of cost.
Speed friending is similar to speed dating, except the objective is to gain acquaintances, not dates.
"Changing the event from speed dating to speed friending was a good way to include everybody and take the pressure off," said Jennifer Groenke, Shoemaker Hall Community Council events coordinator. "We also didn't want to limit people by their sexual orientation or relationship status."
There will be two rows of chairs set up across from each other and participants will choose a seat to sit in when they arrive. Each round will be two minutes long, giving participants a short time to ask each other questions before being asked to move on to a different person.
Before the first round begins, a coordinator at the event will go over sample questions to help participants get started.
After the speed friending is over, participants have the choice to stay and watch a romantic comedy on a large screen. The movie showing is yet to be determined.
A dessert bar will be set up, in addition to several beverage choices.
There will be at least two dozen of every dessert option Sodexho offers.
Speed friending has never been done on campus before.
"We chose speed friending because we wanted to try something new and different," Groenke said. "We felt like the usual themed dance has become so repetitive. Most people have seen speed dating done on TV, but have never actually done anything like it, so we thought it would be fun to try."
Well there's a new way to spend Valentine's Day finding love and friendship.
Speed friending, an event put on by Shoemaker Hall Community Council, is taking place from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Thursday in the Atwood Memorial Center Ballroom and is open to everyone, free of cost.
Speed friending is similar to speed dating, except the objective is to gain acquaintances, not dates.
"Changing the event from speed dating to speed friending was a good way to include everybody and take the pressure off," said Jennifer Groenke, Shoemaker Hall Community Council events coordinator. "We also didn't want to limit people by their sexual orientation or relationship status."
There will be two rows of chairs set up across from each other and participants will choose a seat to sit in when they arrive. Each round will be two minutes long, giving participants a short time to ask each other questions before being asked to move on to a different person.
Before the first round begins, a coordinator at the event will go over sample questions to help participants get started.
After the speed friending is over, participants have the choice to stay and watch a romantic comedy on a large screen. The movie showing is yet to be determined.
A dessert bar will be set up, in addition to several beverage choices.
There will be at least two dozen of every dessert option Sodexho offers.
Speed friending has never been done on campus before.
"We chose speed friending because we wanted to try something new and different," Groenke said. "We felt like the usual themed dance has become so repetitive. Most people have seen speed dating done on TV, but have never actually done anything like it, so we thought it would be fun to try."