Although he heard about it last year, this is sophomore Carter Boxell’s first time filling out the Marriage Pact.
Boxell, who was in a serious relationship until a few months ago, said he thought the pact was a fun way to put himself back into the dating scene. He compared the algorithm to Tinder, saying he isn’t expecting anything but would be open to a long-term relationship.
“I feel like it's dangerous to go in expecting that,” he said. “I heard a lot of people meet someone on there, and they don't even wind up connecting or anything. So I'm just looking at a chance to find someone that I know is also interested in exploring more dating options.”
UNC student Arwen Helms, who was studying abroad in Australia last year, is also filling out the Pact for the first time.
Helms, who identifies as a lesbian, said dating on campus can be challenging and almost incestual because of the smaller, closely-knit sapphic community at UNC. She said dating abroad was much easier.
Like Boxell, Helms also said that while the concept seems fun, she isn’t going in with high expectations.
“Maybe we go on a coffee date and everything just clicks perfectly, and then we keep going on dates and we get married and have beautiful children,” she said. “That would be good in an ideal world. I just see that as a very low probability event.”
Boxell doesn’t think dating is as terrible as he feels people make it out to be. He said if people put themselves out there, it can be a fun experience.
Helms had similar thoughts, saying that she thinks more people need to step out of their comfort zone and take a risk.
“It's a little bit embarrassing to be turned down, but you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take,” she said.
UNC security guard Edward Durham knows about finding love in unexpected places. He met his soulmate through YikYak, an anonymous social media platform.
Two years ago, when YikYak was location-based instead of school-based, Durham saw a post from a stranger asking for comfort. He reached out, and the two spoke for hours with no idea how the other looked or even what their name was.
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“You know that show, ‘Love is Blind’? Well, it really is,” Durham said.
As their conversation progressed, the two knew they had to meet. Durham, a Chapel Hill local who was attending North Carolina State University, took the stranger from YikYak — a Duke University student from Illinois named Renee — to a local lake.
The two spent the entire night talking under the stars, sharing their first kiss beneath the moonlight. Later, Durham took Renee out on their first date. The couple visited Morehead Planetarium, ate on Franklin Street and spent another evening stargazing until the sun came up. Now, the pair live together.
Despite their untraditional meet-cute, Durham knows that he’s found “the one.”
“When I met her, I was completely not in a place to be in a relationship, where I didn't want to be in a relationship,” he said. “In a day — honestly, in less than an hour — my life completely changed.”
Although students are focused on finding love organically, Durham said they shouldn’t rule out the possibility of an algorithm. He encourages everyone to try the Marriage Pact because there’s always a chance things can work out.
“Love is real, for all the people who are doubting it,” he said. “It is out there, and you will find it.”
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