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MAN ON THE MARKET
Editors Note: This is the first installment of our “Man On The Market" series where bachelor Nicholas goes out on four
blind dates with different female students. After each date, they both write a column about the experience.
Nicholas forewent
spandex for flowers
I would just like to start by saying that all of
the applicants to this year’s Man on the Market
were wonderful. They were smart, funny and
cute. Also, I would like to throw some shout
outs to Adrian and the rest of the staff at Active
Climbing for such a great time.
After the Super Bowl was over and I was lying
in my bed, I started to think about the week
ahead. There is school and that oil change and
emissions test I’ve been putting off and, oh yeah,
I have four dates with four different girls.
Before I let my mind begin to wander, I told
myself to just have fun and be as charming as I
know how.
Casey is great.
She is funny, easy
going, smart and
very pretty. She has
a personality that
exudes kindness
and makes you feel
very comfortable.
Take for instance our date at Active Climbing.
My experience with climbing is the ladder to
clean the gutters and that rope in gym class that
had way too many knots for adolescent boys to
be climbing.
Casey, on the other hand, seemed to have a
pretty good grasp of rock climbing, literally and
figuratively.
Even though I probably looked like a real
rookie, she made me feel like I was doing well.
I slipped off the wall at one point, and she got
pulled way off the ground, but she was a good
sport about it. She just laughed it off and said it
was a lot of fun.
Casey seems to have-a real adventurous per
sonality, but at the same time, she is really down
to earth. I really admire that in a girl.
After we had climbed until my arms were
tired, and I had to give up, we sat down and had
a chance to talk.
She told me about where she is from and
about her family. We both have very large
extended families, and we were both raised
Catholic.
We exchanged stories about childhood and
college. Incidentally, we both felt that we were
always way over-dressed at what always seemed
like a casually-dressed church.
Seriously dad, no one else was Easter
dressed-up EVERY Sunday.'
Casey is very funny and has great taste in
comedians. I am pretty sure that I was grinning
from ear to ear the whole time we were talking.
After a while, we said our goodbyes, so we
could get back to our various academic endeav
ors.
As I drove away. I couldn’t help but hope that
she had as good a time as I did. Casey seems like
a really awesome person, and I hope I get a
chance to get to know her better.
Nicholas Welsh
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iSSi Nicholas
Welsh
Casey was swept off her
feet while rock climbing
Although his childhood relationship with spandex is
questionable, my date with Nicholas Welsh was quite a
pleasure.
I Initially felt bad because he was totally meeting me
on my turf over the past few weeks, I’ve become a
Monday night regular at Active Climbing —and the crew
over there, Adrian, Honza and Dustin, were well aware of
my little blind date situation.
I must admit, I was nervous while I waited for Nicholas’
arrival. I’ve never been on a blind date, and my mind was
preoccupied with my communication law test the next
morning. But, when Nicholas arrived, I Immediately knew
it was going to be fine. He brought flowers. Awww.
Nicholas had never
been climbing before, but
he had such a good atti
tude about trying some
thing new. It was great to
spend time with someone
who put off such a posi
tive vibe. I could tell this
guy likes an adventure.
Adrian got us all set up
with harnesses and shoes and then gave us a rather
extensive lesson on belaying and good climbing form.
Nicholas was a quick learner, although he did try to kill
me once by putting the rope in the belay device the wrong
direction.
I felt much better when Adrian informed me that a fall
from the walls at Active, a mere 20 feet, would only put
me in a wheelchair for life or at least break both my
ankles.
We had a great time climbing. We took turns belaying
and Nicholas was a really impressive first-timer.
Perhaps the best part, though, was that Nicholas made
a real effort to get to know me. It would have been so easy
to get caught up in the activity of climbing and not really
dive into any actual conversation, but he made sure we
spent some time just sitting and talking.
In that time, I learned that Nicholas took gymnastics
as a kid. first and foremost because he loved wearing
spandex but also because his parents said it would help
his balance.
He was quick to assure me that his spandex-loving
days are over. Sure.
We also talked about the wonders of growing up in large
Catholic families, and I couldn't resist throwing some
hometown trash talk at this former Georgia Southern
Eagle. My dear Appalachian Mountaineers have dominated
the Eagles on the football field in the past few years, and it
just felt so good to rub it in!
By the time the date was over, we were both pretty
"pumped" (that’s a climbing term for tired, although I’m
still not sure why you can't just say tired). We chatted for a
while about his upcoming dates, but he promised that
none of them would be as fun as ours and that my flowers
would be the nicest he gives to a date. I'm holding you to
that, Nicholas!
All in all, a very positive experience with a very nice
guy. Just one question remains does a deeply-seated
love for spandex ever really die?
Casey Bridgeman
VARIETY
Bridgeman
The Red a Black | Wednesday, Fkbruaky no, aoio
Panel to discuss the
many facets of love
By EVA VASQUEZ
The Red & Buck
Cupid may be color
blind already, but the rest
of the world may not be
quite there yet.
In honor of Vfclehtine’a
Day, the Political Action
Committee of the Black
Affairs Council is examin
ing love, intimacy and rela
tionships from the per
spective of a globalized,
multi-cultural world.
A moderated panel dis
cussion will tackle how
globalization has affected
the way we view and value
various aspects of love.
Chair of the BAC’s
Political Action
Committee, Nekabari
Goka, has organized the
event in hopes of making
students more aware of
the many different stan
dards of love and dating
across the world.
“The reality is that peo
ple do not have the same
standards,” Goka said.
“Sometimes we get so
caught up talking about
relationships in the ways
that are comfortable to us,
and we forget that there
are other perspectives out
there.”
This program is just
one of the many opportu
nities for learning provided
by the Political Action
Committee.
“The goal of the
Political Action
Committee is to organize
and plan programming
that has to do with politi
cal, sociological and cur
rent events in the world,”
Goka said.
With this particular pro
gram, students are encour
aged to come and discuss
very personal topics such
as love and intimacy with
students of diverse back
grounds.
Goka has purposefully
strived to organize a
multi-cultural student
panel to offer a variety of
perspectives. The panel
will be comprised of four
students. •
Due to the last minute
cancellation of a faculty
member, Goka himself will
most likely moderate the
event.
GLOBAL LOVE
What: A Globalization of Love
Whan: 6:15 tonight
Where: MLC Room 148
“We will pose questions
to the students and then
pose questions to the
audience,” Goka said.
Goka has been working
on the idea of this particu
lar program for some time.
“I started working on
the idea last summer,"
Goka said. “A family
friend of mine is a profes
sor of sociology at Emory,
and he helped me direct
my research.”
However, the success of
the program lies heavily on
the willingness of the audi
ence to participate and
engage in the dialogues
presented Wednesday.
“I like panels, but only
if the audience interacts,”
said Casey Bruce, Editor
of Infusion Magazine and
member of BAC.
Infusion Magazine is a
multicultural magazine on
campus, so Bruce is aware
of the issues that students
at the University could
gain a better understand
ing of.
If all goes well, Bruce
said he believes the pro
gram could be highly ben
eficial to students.
“I think people could be
more aware of interracial
dating and arranged mar
riages,” she said.
She explained that we
do not fully understand
why people get arranged
marriages.
“UGAiskind of in a
bubble in Athens,” Bruce
said. “It will be good for
people to come out and
hear about something dif
ferent.”
In order to keep every
one engaged, Goka has
prepared a set of talking
points to stimulate con
versation.
“One thing that we will
discuss is globalization’s
role in the construction of
fantasy,” Goka said. “We
will also discuss how
desires, pleasures and
emotions circulate as com
modities in the global
marketplace.”
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