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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 (standard text message rates apply) gated entry 24-hour computer lab 24-hour fitness center tanning bed furnished & unfurnished units ATIK B MS — jt Bm W Mm nnHp mm \ A flttHHHk V> nr m 108 nv j l nf IKf n ■ b 1 HHn I*. Jlj 9H MB i JBS B JS| yjalw 8H ib JRB 4Ay9 jn| - Mm jBHL R COME LIVE WITH THE BIG DAWGS www.myownapartment.com • 706.548.4400 175 International Drive • Athens, GA 30605 6£> 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.” 5