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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1988)
Thursday, April 7, 1988AThe Battalion/Page 5 willspej ew video dating service slow to attract students Join the rush toTKD 5 Peakii; willspe;, 'epartire- onsanj; o.n, atfj ithwesie' cker. onio'Sf KKoIrs fltiel# rinll )iology| lericapj) aders jj m\bn 9. n. at Alii ingtop wchsa> meetirc; 30p.if itralPap By Jennifer E. Townsend Reporter A video dating service, the Singles ionnection, recently has opened in Iryan, but not many Texas A&M tudents are rushing to join, an ad- inistrative assistant for the service aid. “We have gotten some calls from :ollege students, but they take it note as a joke,” Shelley Fleming id. “A lot of the guys who call seem o think we run an escort sevice — aying things like, ‘I need a date for laturday night, how much?’ ” She said the students who do |ome in are mainly older students, ither graduating seniors or adults /ho have gone back to school. “Our service is mainly for people /ho are tired of going to clubs or |ust don’t have the time to go out nd find someone to date,” Fleming aid. Gregg Barfield, owner and ounder of the Singles Connection, aid the service tries to offer a viable Jternative for singles frustrated nth the club scene. The Singles Connection opened 4arch 7 and has about 30 members ofar. The service is basically for sin- lie professionals. Ages of members un between 25 and 60, Fleming aid. Mete; i/ypufe fiafslt; mam mJn She said members are looking for nything from a simple compan- nship to a permanent relationship. One A&M studuent who has ined the service is Lori Jones, a se- ior theater arts major. “I’m really not thrilled about eeting guys at bars,” Jones said. ^People at Singles Connection are IBiore interested in meeting someone ’ fora relationship.” I Singles Connection members ■teet prospective dating partners through a video selection process. Each member Fills out a personal Irofile sheet. The profile asks ques- tions such as “Do you smoke?” “Do jou have children?” “Would you late someone who drinks?” and Would you date someone who has lets?” The profile also asks members to escibe the type of person they /ould like to meet and to describe emselves as a friend would decribe them. The profile is put in a photo al bum along with pictures of the mem ber. A five minute question-and-an- swer video also is made of each member, Fleming said. In the video, members talk about their worst dates, the best way a man or woman can attract their attention, the kind of movies they like to watch, their favorite things to do on a date and the qualities they look for in a dating partner. “You can really tell a lot about a person by their video,” Fleming said. “People are very honest. They don’t know who is going to be watching them so they aren’t embarrassed about being themselves.” Jones said she believes people are natural in their videos. “Because you’re not really meet ing someone, it’s easier to show your personality,” she said. “And you can always redo your video if you don’t like it.” Members view photographs, read profiles and watch the videos of other members as often as they want, Fleming said. If members see someone they would like to go out with, the club sends a notification postcard to that member, explaining the member’s selection as a date. Members are allowed 36 selec tions during a one-year mem bership, but they may be selected by other members an unlimited num ber of times during that year. The person selected has two weeks to view the video of the other member, Fleming said. Then, the date either is accepted or refused. If both members agree to a date, the club will release their phone numbers. “Everything is done on a confi dential basis,” Fleming said. Mem bers don’t even know each others’ full names until a date is agreed upon, she said. Barfield said people avoid per sonal, upfront rejection by using a video dating service. “And if you do get picked, it’s a big ego boost,” he added. Fleming said that by using video selection, a lot of the first-date ner vousness is alleviated. “This way you already know about the person, so the first date isn’t un comfortable,” she said. One club member, Kelly, who de clined to give her last name, said she likes the Singles Connection system of matching people. “By watching the videos, you find out if you are even compatible to go out on a date with someone,” she said. By the first date, members already have a basic idea of each others’ likes and dislikes, she added. Kelly received her first date after being a member for only two days. “I got a date right off the bat,” she said. Kelly said she thinks being a mem ber of the Singles Connection is worth spending the money it costs to join. A membership regularly costs $250 a year, but through April the Singles Connection is offering a spe cial introductory price of $185 for women and $195 for men. “You know people are serious about wanting to date someone be cause they paid at least $250 to be members of the club,” she said. “They want to meet someone who is in the same position they are in.” Barfield said he opened the Sin gles Connection because the video dating services in other areas had been extremely successful. There seemed to be a need for a dating service in the Bryan-College Station area, he said. Singles don’t have many alterna tives to meet people, Barfield said. A practical alternative to traditional methods is a dating service. Barfield said women seem more reluctant than men to become mem bers. “The only problem I have now is getting women to join,” he said. “If the women are here, I will have no problem with the men — they will naturally follow. “The women are very curious. They just don’t seem ready to spend the money and commit themselves.” Fleming said that about 200 peo ple are on the mailing list. “Many of them seem seriously in terested in joining,” she said. “I’m confident that we will have 50 mem bers within the next two weeks.” Yo! "lappa Kappa Draff Welcome to the smoothest house on campus-Toppo Kappa Draft where our motto is fun. Just twist the cap and you've got the smooth, fresh flavor of real draft beer in a bottle. As only Coors can brew. HJ and HJ LIGHT Rush in for a six-pack of one or both. pc: The smoother, the better. © 1980 Adolph Coors Company. Golden. Colorado 80401. 'v- £ harges dropped against rape suspect lersloir: SAN DIEGO, Texas (AP) — A sexual assault charge as dropped Wednesday against one of II men barged in the gang rape of a 19-year-old woman after lie was mistakenly identified by the victim. I A Duval County official also said he expects the case to go to a grand jury next week. I Adolfo Quintanilla Jr., 28, of San Diego, was charged following the brutal March 26 attack the woman re- orted. Assistant District Attorney Rodolfo Gutierrez said the woman had confused Quintanilla with another man arged in the case and misidentified him. “The motion (to dismiss the charge) was issued yes- rday, and the order was signed today,” Olga Solis, for Justice of the Peace Amado Garcia Jr., said Wednesday. Quintanilla “has asked us to contact the media” so that his name is cleared, Gutierrez said Tuesday. “We’re writing a letter to his employer that there are no charges against Mr. Quintanilla.” Gutierrez said he expects a grand jury to begin hear ing evidence next week in the attack that has stunned the South Texas town of about 5,000. The woman and witnesses said as many as 20 men may have been involved in the four-hour ordeal. She told investigators she was abducted in town and driven to two ranches where she was repeatedly attacked. Gutierrez said a 14-year-old boy was implicated in the case this week, and that the woman and witnesses identified him. at Academy WEEKEND 1988 LADIES'NIKE SLIMFIT LEATHER AEROBIC SHOES Senior Basil Friday, April 7 5, 8 p:m^ ;:v . Texas Hall of :Fame, $5/coupie Fea turing Melissa Prescott ^pj^/^^QehaStallingsA’ST^^ill kAe;* WCoach oTStALpdia-Gardiftsii:: Saturday, April 16, 9 p.m. MSC and Rudder Exhibit Hall, $35/couple Featuring Michael, Michael and the Maxx Ed Gerlach Orchestra The Senior Weekend Package at $65/couple, includes all three events. Tickets are on sale at Rudder Box Office at 845-1234. ” vr ^ 1 All tickets are presale. Battalion SPREADING THE NEWS