ALEXIS PRICE | adprice1@butler.edu | Opinion Columnist

If you take a look at Butler University’s Yik Yak feed, it seems as though many students need help with their love lives.

“I really just want to sit around and watch a movie with my boyfriend. Can anyone recommend a good boyfriend?”

“Now taking applications for a pretend boyfriend over break so it’s not awkward when my family asks why I’m still single.”

“Classes I Need: How to casually talk to that cute guy across the room 101.”

Ball State University now has a leadership and communication class called “Cardinal Chemistry,” and it just might be the answer to students’ dating concerns going forward.

The goal of Cardinal Chemistry is “to see if they could make two people fall in love and find a genuine connection,” according to an article in The Ball State Daily.

Three males in the class offered to take on roles of “bachelors,” and a mixer was held for the females to determine the male they liked best.

According to the article, during the project, romance, storytelling, psycho-analytic and promotional teams helped plan almost every aspect of the couple’s relationships.

One of the couples in the Cardinal Chemistry class was Sam Kearney and Shannon Hines. Kearney said they could never keep any aspects of their relationship disclosed, and because of this there was “a low level of intimacy in the relationship.”

In the end, he said there was “no spark,” and it just felt as if he and Hines were “hanging out as friends.”

The couple has since split up.

So, what does this say for the futures of romance and love at first glance?

Are we all doomed?

No, we are not.

Some of us may find love. However, a course at a university may not be the ideal solution to the problem.

I am certainly not Dr. Love or anything—as a matter of fact, I could probably use a few lessons from Dating for Dummies. But I do not think pairing myself up with a fellow student and documenting our relationship via other students would help. Frankly, I feel the same would apply to other students.

I do not think I state any new facts. Relationships are built on spontaneity and a certain level of privacy.

The goal of the class was to help the students find a genuine connection, but how is one supposed to do that with dates planned by other students? And after the date, you are required to report back to the group?

On the other hand, the class could be a way to simply meet new people. If there was not a genuine connection, it may be helpful for students of the class to roleplay as a couple for educational purposes.

Butler University freshman Kimberly Cheatham said she thinks the class could be beneficial at Butler.

“I think it would be something fun, without repercussions in the end,” Cheatham said. “It would be safer than dating online on Tinder, for example. The class could be a way to meet other people from your school and develop relationships, and probably make new friends, too.”

Ball State freshman Dylan Smith had a similar outlook on the class offered at his school.

“I think it could help some discover what it is like and maybe help them develop stronger relationships when the actual time comes,” he said.

I suppose if you are looking for a no-pressure, planned-out fling, this class may be beneficial. But for a serious relationship, we may have to look elsewhere. However, it would be a quirky, unnaturally romantic story to tell the children, wouldn’t it?

I bet it would.