Single and ready to mingle

Finding love in university may not be easy with academic commitments, so graduate students from SPMS and MAE took it upon themselves to organise a dating party for their peers.

By Saranya Mahendran

MEET AND GREET: The party provided graduate students with an opportunity to interact in a free and easy setting, and is into its third year. 
PHOTO: ALCIA GOH

With popular love ballads playing in the background, ladies clustered in small groups as uncertain men looked on, wondering how to approach them.

Though this seemed like a typical matchmaking event, there was a significant difference — it was held in NTU.

This was the third edition of the annual Singles Party, held on 26 Mar at the Hall of Residence 12 Function Room. The party was co-organised by the respective Graduate Student Clubs (GSC) of the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS) and the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), and was open to all graduate students.

Participants at the party were treated to musical performances by their fellow graduate students, while game booths were also set up to help participants pass time.

One such booth, labelled “Protection” required a couple to be tied together at the ankle, with a balloon attached. To win the game, each couple had to burst the opposing couple’s balloon while “protecting” theirs. Another game, “Shooting the Bucket”, involved a female player shooting ping pong balls into a bucket held by a squatting male counterpart.

LIGHTENING THE MOOD: Participants bonded through games where male and female participants have to pair up to face off with other couples.
PHOTO: ALICIA GOH

Several first-time participants the Nanyang Chronicle spoke to said that they had never attended dating events and were curious to find out what it would be like.

Wong Shao Yi, 28, a third-year PhD student from SPMS was one such participant. She said: “I came here to have a look, because I thought it might be easier to talk to people here. The event is good, and the games are funny, but I have not tried any of the games yet. It is fun to watch the rest play.”

Zhou Xin, 23, a final-year PhD student from SPMS said that she found the event “awesome”, as she was able to meet a lot of “different people.”

“If you live outside campus like me, you can’t meet a lot of students,” she added.

Samuel Teo, 27, treasurer of the SPMS GSC, said they organised this year’s event in a way that “created an opportunity for the singles in the graduate population to mingle around,” regardless of their course of study. However, the Chronicle was unable to find any students outside of these two schools, with graduate students hailing from either one of the two organizing schools.

Undergraduates were not invited to the event. Teo explained that the event had to be sponsored by a school in NTU if they wanted to include both undergraduates and graduates, but the Singles Party was supported only by the Student Affairs Office (SAO) this year.

“It is pretty hard for graduates like us to request for the budget to support such an event. The undergrads are usually supported by the Social Development Network, but the graduate students are usually only supported only by SAO or our own faculty,” added Teo.

Alvin Teo, 28, a third-year PhD student at the party, noted that the Singles Party’s turnout was lacklustre, and also pointed out the introverted nature of many participants. He said: “(The only way) I met the people (was) through the icebreaker game, when I had to try to get their signatures to win. But if you look around now, the people who are here are all clustered in their own corners.”

Admission cost was $3 for females, $10 for males, and $12 for students in a relationship. Organizers explained that females were entitled to cheaper ticket prices in a bid to make the event more attractive to them. Despite this incentive, male participants still formed the bulk of those in attendance. However, more female than male participants stayed on as the party progressed.

Although ticket prices were lower for female participants in a bid to make the event more attractive to them, their male counterparts still outnumbered them initially at the party.
PHOTO: ALICIA GOH

One of those who stayed on was Weng Ting, 28, a final-year graduate student from the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). She wanted more of such dating events in NTU.

“I think this event is very good. I met a lot of people here. When you are doing your PhD and spending your time in the lab everyday, you spend a lot of time alone and it is very hard to meet people.”

Another participant, Cheng Jie, 30, a researcher at German pharmaceutical company, Bayer, snuck into the event and enjoyed it immensely despite not being a graduate student.

“The event is good, and I met many active and smart people through the icebreaker game. I liked the games and how the organisers planned the event.”

Although most participants were visibly enjoying themselves, many declined to be interviewed by the Chronicle. These participants admitted that they did not want their friends to find out that they were attending the event, saying that they would feel embarrassed if their peers found out.

While the concept of a dating event in NTU is unusual, MAE GSC President Mohammad Zaidi, 27, pointed out that it should not be taboo. He said that elements of dating are seen in other NTU events such as the Freshman Orientation Camps where games involving physical contact and dating activities such as ‘Secret Partner’. In contrast to these activities, he noted that the Singles Party differentiates itself by giving attendees the freedom to mingle with others in a free and easy setting.

Despite positive responses from the participants, Lin Kang Yu, a third-year PhD student from MAE who also helped to organise the party, admitted that the programme flow could have been better executed.

”There are times when the participants do not have anything to do and are just standing around. However, I think it’s good that we organised the Singles Party. It is a meaningful event for PhD students.”

Most participants visibly enjoyed themselves at the event, with most students attending the event out of curiosity. However, many couples declined to be interviewed, citing possible embarrassment if their friends found out.
PHOTO: ALICIA GOH