Liberty Students Find A Groovy Kind of Love at Sodexo Speed Dating

Liberty Dining by Sodexo held its 8th annual Speed Dating event at the Food Court at Reber-Thomas on February 7 from 5-8 p.m.

“This year, we embraced a 70’s theme to help participants ‘find a groovy kind of love’, said Marketing Manager Shelby Burton. “We played fun 70s dating game toons and other songs of the time throughout the event.”

Sign-ups opened at 3:30 p.m. that day in the dining hall with two long lines forming before the dining team began filling time slots.

Three out of the five time slots we offered were completely filled before the event start,” said Burton. “We filled all 300 spots this year.”

Students could sign up for a 30-minute slot during which they would meet ten people through three-minute speed dates.

“While we brand the event as ‘dating,’ we can’t stress enough how the best way to approach the event is just to make new friends,” said Burton. “We hear a lot of students use this event to break out of their shell, have some fun, and meet new people.”

The Liberty University mascot, Sparky, also made an appearance to cheer on speed daters.

During this event, the dining team offered complimentary flowers for students as well dining themed Valentine’s Day cards.

Burton said the most popular card was “Wanna go on a ROT date?” “The ROT” has been the long-standing nickname for the dining hall for at least 30 years.

“Students consider going on a ROT date as an LU bucket list item or rite of passage,” said Burton. “The Valentines event was a success, and we can’t wait to do it again next year.”