Valentine’s Day this year was very different from those of previous years. With limited physical contact, it was difficult for most people to find themselves a valentine. The CHS Knight Time Review has previously organized blind dates for the students — it is something like a tradition. So this year, we held blind dates on Zoom. Students should be familiar with the desktop app because Zoom is the same platform we students use to attend our online classes. 

To get the information required for blind dating, I sent out a questionnaire so I could get a helpful description of the applicants. I asked questions such as “What grade are you in?” or “What is your sexuality?” The questionnaire also asked the entrant to write down their favorite movie, musical genre, and sport. After reviewing the responses, I was able to match people up based on their interests and preferences. 

In the digital age, with our generation, blind dates have essentially become pointless. Now that everybody has access to social media on multiple platforms, you can find out everything you need to know about a person at the click of a button. Because of this, you end up going on a “blind” date without the date actually being blind. Perhaps people just don’t want to gamble on someone completely or maybe they fear the risk of a date being awkward and losing an entire evening. 

So naturally, most of the applicants knew each other when they got paired up for the engagement. Because I am so used to joining a meeting as a student, I was having difficulty navigating through Zoom as the host of the meeting. It took me about 20 minutes to figure out that I couldn’t make breakout rooms from my phone. Eventually, we got people together talking one on one. Afterward, I interviewed two participants. Iya Feggans (Junior) said “I didn’t really view it as a blind date, I just viewed it as two friends that happened to get matched up. Dante and I are acquainted and we had good conversations about COVID and how we have adjusted to the circumstances. I think online dating is pretty hard and not something I enjoy.” But she went on to say that “I’d do the Valentine’s thing again because I thought it was a pretty fun thing to do while in quarantine and it was nice to talk to other people I don’t usually talk to.”

Her blind date, Dante Walker (Senior) said “it was alright. I’m not an online dating type of person but since Iya is a friend it was alright.” 

In retrospect, I definitely could have planned this out in a more practical way. I’m glad a couple of people had the chance to talk to someone on Valentine’s day because I think it was beneficial to do something new and different. If you would like to do a private zoom meeting, I encourage you to try it.