Graphic by Natalie Kulak ’21
BY GRACE FITZGERALD ’20
It can get lonely in the Pioneer Valley. To address this, we at MoRomance are sending MoHos on blind dates with fellow Five College students to find love! After all, isn’t that what the consortium was created for? We set up Mount Holyoke first-year Suzie* and Hampshire second-year Stephen* for our inaugural Five College date. Suzie described herself as an outgoing, energetic and vivacious person seeking someone who she can be comfortable and intimate with. Stephen, a musician, was looking for someone who loves music and can appreciate his offbeat sense of humor. Their shared love of movies and the arts seemed to make for a perfect match. We sent them on a date to the Smith College Art Museum followed by bubble tea in Northampton. The two met in the lobby of the art museum, and here’s what happened…
Suzie: Going into the date, I was looking to make more connections in the Five Colleges and saw this as an alternative to Tinder. It’s really hard at Mount Holyoke to meet guys off-campus. I was excited and willing to make a friend or more if the possibility arose.
Stephen: I haven’t gone on a date in a while. This was more of trying to get back into the dating scene. I’ve never dated anyone from Mount Holyoke. Before the date, I kind of thought that Mount Holyoke students might be very political, which I’m definitely OK with.
Suzie: I was a little late to the date because I took the wrong PVTA and had to Uber to Northampton. When I got to the museum, I got a ticket from the receptionist. I think he heard me tell the receptionist that I was waiting for someone.
Stephen: I thought she was really pretty. I had a black button-up dress shirt on and the only green thing I own: a sport jacket. She was wearing a green floral dress.
Suzie: He was wearing a yellow beret and a green velvet blazer, so I was thinking, “OK, he’s bold and true to himself.” After we started talking, we decided against going into the museum and we ended up walking through town. It was such a nice day outside.
Stephen: We walked into Northampton and got tea from Below Zero. Afterwards, we decided to go for a walk around the lake back at Smith. We did a few laps and sat by the lake and talked for a while. I brought a polaroid camera, so we took a couple of pictures together.
Suzie: I don’t know if I would have necessarily gone on a date with him if I had seen him on Tinder. We may not have hit it off if we weren’t forced to have a conversation together. He plays a lot of musical instruments, so we went to a music shop. He played the guitar for a while which was cool. It allowed me to learn more about him.
Stephen: I often find myself being attracted to people similar to me. She seemed very artsy and no matter what topics we talked about, she had really insightful responses. She put a lot of thought into her answers, as opposed to other people I’ve met before. When she talked about her favorite movie, she described it in depth and seemed really interested in it. I really value that type of thing.
Suzie: He’s artistic in a very unique way and he’s very outgoing. I feel like it was a little awkward but that may have just been because it was a first date. He was very apologetic about the fact that it was awkward. I reassured him that it was OK.
Stephen: When we were sitting by the lake we talked about our parents and their different approaches to going to college. She was really funny; we have similar senses of humor. We talked about our mutual love of stand up comedians. She told me this Bo Burnham joke that I had heard before but it made me laugh because she said it in such a funny way.
Suzie: Once we worked through the routine questions that you ask on a college date, we started having a more interesting conversation. We discovered that we are both really big Wes Anderson fans.
Stephen: She’s a very physically attractive person. After hearing her talking about her life, it made me more attracted to her. It’s one of those things where you hear someone talk about something they’re really passionate about and you like them even more.
Suzie: He has a nice face and good bone structure. He’s very easygoing so it took a lot of the pressure off of the date. I felt comfortable around him. He’s a little shorter than a lot of other guys that I’ve dated but that’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. He has a great sense of humor. When he whipped out his guitar skills, I thought his musical ability was definitely appealing.
Stephen: I didn’t feel as awkward as I normally do on dates. It takes me a little while to warm up to somebody. I’m always feeling like I’m really awkward, even though I’m probably not as awkward as I think I am. I didn’t feel that as much on this date.
Suzie: I liked how genuine and authentic he was. I don’t think he was trying to be someone that he wasn’t. I could tell that he wasn’t trying to show off or anything. I’m not surprised that we were matched, we’re both looking for someone to open up to emotionally.
Stephen: The date didn’t end in a kiss. I kind of wish it did, but I’m not the type of person who’s good at instigating that kind of thing. I’m always worried I’ll make the other person uncomfortable or that they aren’t on the same page.
Suzie: This date was really good compared to the last few dates I’ve been on, which have been really bad. Often the guys I go on dates with are really nervous, so it was refreshing to have a date with someone who I could actually talk to. I was really happy after the date. I thought, “Thank God, someone who wasn’t painful to talk to.”
Stephen: As the date was ending she had to go meet some friends in Northampton. We exchanged numbers and both expressed interest in seeing each other again. I have more of an idea of what’s working for me and what type of dates I enjoy from this experience.
Suzie: I was glad to get to know him and have the date set up for me. Sometimes our own first impressions, that are perhaps a little vain, can get in the way of getting to know someone who we could actually get along with very well. Maybe we’ll talk or see each other again, more just as friends, but who knows?
MoRomance is a student-run matchmaking service run by Flori Needle ’20, Gina Perry ’20, Grace Fitzgerald ’20 and Maya Rhode ’20. These interviews have been condensed and edited for clarity. To sign up for MoRomance, visit mountholyokenews.com/moromance.
*Names have been changed for anonymity.