By Dakota Rose
October has arrived, with it bringing all things pumpkins, chai, Halloween, and seasonal colors changing (though not always in Dallas). Lately, mixed in with pumpkin-spice drink reviews and haunted house recommendations, there has been a resurgence of “cuffing season” content which has left me thinking about the various range of relationships on the SMU Campus. It is not lost on me that SMU largely operates on opposite sides of the dating spectrum: while many students seem to feel that SMU is the last place to find a significant other, as the fall events take place I see more and more happy couples popping up around campus and on my Instagram feed. Curious, I decided to take the time to ask a few questions of our student body about their dating experience on campus and in Dallas:
I was surprised to find that many students’ answers were scarily similar — and not in a fun, spooky season way. One male junior* said that at SMU, “it’s easy to date for the wrong reasons; it is not easy to date for the right reasons.” Many of the students I spoke to echoed this sentiment, commenting on the superficial nature of dating at SMU. “It’s all about money and looks,” said another student.
Meeting people does not seem to be an issue. One student recounted: “One guy I went out with, we kept passing each other in the hall, and one day he just stopped me in the hall. We hung out right then and I continued seeing him after that.” Both male and female students I interviewed mentioned they have been approached, often at an SMU-affiliated event, by someone who would ask them for their number and eventually invite them out on a date. Unfortunately, these meet-cutes seem largely short-lived. When asked about his experience on a first date born out of one of these interactions, one student said “It was interesting, to say the least, it was a one-night stand.” Another senior student said the main problems she sees with dating at SMU are, “infidelity and the hook-up culture” on campus. The verdict seems to be that “most people are looking for something superficial.”
Another student said she “just [doesn’t] really feel like [she] vibe[s] with a lot of people at SMU.” This has led many students to try dating apps to expand the pool of potential partners. “It’s a small pool at SMU. I have Hinge,” said one student. Hinge seems to be the most popular dating app for students at SMU, according to my sources, with Tinder being a close second. Though Bumble was started by an SMU alumni, Whitney Wolfe-Herd, it does not seem to be as popular as the previously mentioned applications. Dating app or not, meeting someone doesn’t always translate into a relationship. Even when they find a connection online students don’t want to admit that’s how it was started. “I don’t want to be telling people in the future that I met my future girlfriend or wife online: ‘Oh yes, we met on Hinge, that’s no fun,” said one student. The bottom line is that students, even those on dating apps, don’t want to be with someone long-term that they met online. They don’t want to manufacture love.
Based on the people I interviewed, there are fewer people in relationships on campus than there are single people – some by choice and others just due to a lack of good options. “I don’t know that many couples,” said one junior. “There are plenty of people in relationships but not necessarily with people at SMU” she elaborated. The numbers are in, and most students would opt to date someone off campus rather than a fellow SMU student. So, this fall, the only advice SMU Look can provide is to save that “boo basket” for someone special and choose wisely.
*Names have been removed to respect student privacy.
