‘Tis the season for some casual conversation and potential partnership. The Sexual Citizens Club (SCC) kicked off the holidays with two rounds of speed dating on Dec. 1.

The first round, dedicated to members of the queer community, ran from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. while the second, for those who identify as straight, spanned from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“Speed dating is supposed to help promote healthy relationships, look for any red flags, learn how to say ‘no’ and provide people with these boundaries, and show that these relationships can be healthy and fun.” SCC president Lauren Ratcliff spoke a little bit on the purpose of the event.

At the beginning of the evening, everyone was directed to split off into pairs and sit across from each other, as Ratcliff opened with a short speech about what constitutes consent. To get conversations started, Ratcliff then dropped multiple questions for the couples to discuss, the first being, “If you were a type of fruit, which one would you be and why?”

Chatter swelled throughout the room as the speed daters got to know their table mates. Freshman Theater Design and Technology major Isabelle Basham participated in the dating pool that night.

“You get to meet a bunch of open-minded people that are also looking for someone. You actually get to meet them in person, so it’s not as sketchy or intimidating as online dating,It’s really nice that they have a section for people that are queer, so we don’t have to squeeze and squint through the lines and see if it’s a possibility,” said Basham.

Each couple spent about 15 minutes together and Ratcliff sprinkled a few more questions into the mix to help keep everyone engaged with each other.

“We just started this last year,” Ratcliff said. “I’ve been thinking about doing it next semester, too. Nov. and Dec. are the National Healthy Relationships months, so we try to keep it in these months, but if people like it, maybe we’ll do it again.”

Events hosted by Sexual Citizens Club can be found on the Presence app in MavZone.