Lindsay Ravetz ’25
Staff Writer
After watching seasons and seasons of “The Bachelor,” “Love Island,” and “Too Hot To Handle,” some of us — most of us — are waiting for our own love story. The 5Cs satirical news publication, The Golden Antlers, gives students the opportunity to meet “the one” each Valentine’s Day through Datamatch.
When entering the Datamatch website, students are presented with a survey created by The Golden Antlers. Questions this year included: “What is your love language?”, “If you could go on a date with any historical figure why would it be James Madison?”, and “Favorite type of Scripps dad?”
After answering the survey, users are required to complete their profiles. In this section, students decide whether they are in search of love, friendship, or both. They specify gender preferences and are able to add a photograph and bio. Lastly, students have the opportunity to showcase their personality through fill-in-the-blank questions such as “Swipe right if…” or “My favorite party trick is…”
Some people doubt whether or not answering “what’s your favorite letter” from the options “B, C, D, E, and F” really can match them with a future soulmate. When asked why she signed up for Datamatch, an anonymous student, who will be referred to as Ryan, said, “I thought, why not? I saw that the questions looked funny, so felt I might as well just fill this out and see what happens.”
She describes that she does not believe any of the matches could be potential relationships, but said, “If I meet them in person someday, it could be a good conversation starter.”
Datamatch’s messaging platform also formed a barrier when interacting with matches. “It was quite funny because they don’t give you notifications that someone messaged you, so I would forget about it and… check it one time a day,” said Ryan. “I guess it’s like snail mail.”
Ryan concludes that she is still unsure whether or not Datamatch paired her with people she is compatible with.
Faith in love through Datamatch, however, should not be completely lost. Katie Hansen ’23 is still dating one of her matches from the 2021 cycle.
“I think that Datamatch is always kind of a joke,” said Hansen. “We were all at home, so we were bored and I wasn’t really expecting anything going into it.”
Hansen recalls matching with her now-boyfriend and finding similarities between them after reading his bio. “Even if nothing happens, he could be a cool friend,” she said. After messaging within the Datamatch portal, they exchanged numbers and moved their communication to text, then decided to meet through FaceTime.
“We ended up FacetTiming every night over spring break for a couple of hours,” Hansen said. “Because of school and the pandemic, we were both living at home, so FaceTimed for four months without meeting in person.”
They were finally able to meet in person while Hansen was completing summer research. “He happened to be going on this epic road trip and was like, ‘I’ll just stop in Claremont’,” said Hansen. After meeting in person, they were certain there was a connection.
“It was easier for me that we started slow and got to know each other first,” she said. “Meeting somebody in person is so much scarier…I think it worked out better this way.”
Despite Hansen’s feelings about her own Datamatch experience, she still does not believe in the power of its algorithm. Sorry to disappoint the hopeless romantics, but this survey may not be the way to meet the love of your life. “I think it was 100% luck,” Hansen said, confidently summing up her Datamatch experience.
Image Source: Datamatch
