Speed Dating at UWG

A speed dating event was hosted by two UWG student organizations, Students of Caribbean Ancestry (SOCA) and the African Student Association (A.S.A.). The speed dating event was on Feb. 7 in the Campus Center Ballroom. The event, “XOXO My Love Is Very Special,”was named after a popular Caribbean song called “Fever” by Vybz Kartel. The goal of the event was to break the barrier between the two groups and American students on campus.        

        The event had four sections of tables set up around the room. Each table had between 20-30 people sitting at it, the girls sat on the outside and the guys sat across from them on the inside of the tables. Each couple that was lined up were given a timed three-minute increment to have a conversation and attempt to get to know a little bit about that person who was sitting across.  

        After the three-minutes were up the couples were told to switch by the host on the mic. When the couples switched the girls stayed stationary and the boys moved down to the left to the next girl. While the speed dating was in session people were welcomed to take a break and walk around.   

       In the middle of the room the Atlanta Hawks college ambassador for UWG Haley Barker promoted the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. She gave out Atlanta Hawks items and special offer cards. After the students took a quick break from the session and walked around and met Barker, everyone sat back down where there was an opening and started trying to make a new friend or meet a possible Valentine.  

         This is the second semester on campus for the two international organizations, so they are trying to find fun ways to get to know each other and other people on campus.  

        The A.S.A. was founded to bring together students of diverse African countries. The goal is to close the hole between the A.S.A. and other students on campus as much as possible by having informational events that anyone can attend and public service projects.  

         SOCA’s objective is to bring awareness to the University and the community about the cultural diversity amongst Caribbean nations and also integrate students at the university of different backgrounds. Some ways SOCA plans to accomplish this by doing volunteer work and hosting events on campus, like the speed dating event.  

Many students like Tolowais Ogannoiki, Courtni Dupree, Beatrice Duah and Chidera Ohyeama said they came to the speed dating event not with the goal of finding a Valentine but hoping to meet new people from the school and make new friends.  

        The lights in the campus ballroom were dimmed and there were rose petals and candles on the tables to make the environment romantic. There was popular music playing during the event which lightened the mood up and made a lot of people connect over music. The speed dating event lasted two hours and was a huge success many people said they made new connections and were glad they participated in the event.