The Make.IT Makerspaces hosted a ‘speed dating’ event for the University of Wyoming students. This event was an opportunity for students to meet people while providing a unique opportunity to make crafts. It was also a showcase of what the Make.IT Makerspace has to offer.
The event allowed no more than 20 students. Gage Vandiver, a student attending the event said, “I came here because I was curious to meet some new people platonically and maybe romantically. I also was just curious as to what this event was going to be like. I admit they did a good job pitching it with the whole ‘creative twist’ bit.” Another student attending the event, Maria Gonzalez, said “I’m actually an exchange student, so I was hoping to make friends, or maybe just meet someone to have fun with.” Vandiver and Gonzalez ended up being paired with each other, and saw a potential connection, exchanging contacts at the end of the night.
The first thing the students were asked to do was make a creative name tag. After making them, the name tags were put into a hat. This hat was randomly drawn from to make the first initial pairing. Since there were more men than women, the men not paired went into a separate room and started making Valentine’s cards. The pairs would sit down and make valentines as well. The men in the pairs had a choice whether to give their valentines to their pair, or to take it with them, meaning they were not interested. After the first round was complete, there was the ‘rebound’ round. The men not paired in the first round, would display the valentines they made. The women would choose a valentine and now be paired with whoever made that valentine. This process repeated for four rounds total.
“We are trying to get students to engage in all our spaces, so we’re throwing special events for them. So this is just one of the special events we came up with to get students to engage in making and creating and building friendships,” Jane Crayton, the organizer of the event, said. Since the Maker.IT is one of the newest branches of the maker spaces across campus, this was a way to show what they have to offer, while also hosting a fun valentines theme event.
When asked whether this event was for making romantic or platonic relations, Crayton said, “kind of both. I’ve heard a lot of complaints from my own college-age students, and my employees who are college-age, who were really struggling making friends and dating. They found a hindrance and social media is really disconnecting them. So I thought this would be a way to deeply engage with each other on a more personal level, put down your phones, and focus on building friendships and relationships that may have a spark.”
This “Maker’s Match Night” was a way for students to get to know one another, and get involved with one of the maker spaces across campus. The night was a success, with many people leaving with one anothers contact information.
