By Kallandra Weatherbee
For Valentine’s day this year, NAITSA is hosting several virtual events to get students socializing and meeting new people.
PALentine’s Day
On Feb. 4, NAITSA is hosting PALentine’s day.
Lindsay Jamieson, promotions and engagement coordinator with NAITSA, said this event is a good way to socialize from home without any pressure.
“It’s going to be an event for students to mix and mingle without the pressure of having to make a romantic connection. So it’s a great way to socialize with like-minded individuals without any romantic pressure,” said Jamieson.
Students who join the virtual event will be paired off throughout the event. If a connection is made, contact information will be shared at the end of the event.
“Participants will be paired up for each connection, and then if you’re enjoying the conversation with a person, there will be a connect button. You can hit connect, and any mutual matches will be emailed to you so you can chat later on,” said Jamieson.
Jamieson said while the pandemic is still going on some students could be struggling to have social interactions daily, and events like this could help.
“I think this is a really great opportunity for people to meet virtually and have an opportunity to talk. I think being online is really difficult and alienating for some people, and by having events like this, you can meet new people,” said Jamieson.
Virtual Speed Dating
On Feb. 8, NAITSA is hosting a virtual speed dating event.
Kassidy Skinner, events coordinator for the campus activities board, said this event is great for students to meet one another in a low-stress way.
“It’s a great way to connect with people. You can pour yourself a drink or a coffee, have a little bite to eat and really relax and meet people. It’s a great way to get some social interaction that we are all kind of lacking right now,” said Skinner.
Similar to PALentines, participants will be paired up throughout the event, and if there’s a connection, contact information will be shared at the end.
“A male will be matched up with a female. They can talk about whatever they want to talk about, and then if they feel a connection, they’ll press a match button. If it’s a mutual match, they’ll be sent each other’s contact information,” said Skinner.
Skinner believes these events will bring together students to make meaningful and lasting friendships or partners.
“Hopefully, these connections continue on past the events. One of the hopes we have is that these friendships or these relationships will continue, and our students will feel more supported and have more of a community,” said Skinner.
LGBTQ+ Virtual Speed Dating
NAITSA has also partnered with MacEwan to host the LGBTQ+ virtual speed dating event on Feb. 11. Skinner said this event is exactly like the speed dating event but for the LGBTQ+ community at NAIT and MacEwan.
“Although labelled speed dating, it is open to platonic friendships or connections as well. This one is open to any member of the LGBTQ+ community. It’ll work similar to the virtual speed dating, but every member will be matched with every other member,” said Skinner.
NAIT and MacEwan have smaller numbers of the LGBTQ+ community. Skinner said they partner so students can meet similar minded people from different universities.
“We do have a fairly small community of LGBTQ+ at NAIT, and so we wanted to give them an opportunity to foster more friendships and relationships from a bigger pool. We have the same four people that are coming to LGBTQ+ events, so we want to expand that,” said Skinner.
More event information and links to RSVP can be found here.
