By Jacob Schaperow, editor-in-chief, @jschap1

Yoni Ross is a freshman enrolled in letters and sciences, but this is his fourth year out of high school since doing a year abroad in Israel, studying at University of Pittsburgh for a year and spending a year working. Laurie Hunt studies nursing, and is graduating in 2016.

So what did you first think when you saw your date?
Laurie: Well, I was a little bit confused because the photographer was there, too, and he was wearing a kippah, so I didn’t know which one was which, but once I saw my date, I thought, oh, I’ve seen him around, but I didn’t know his name or anything about him, so it was cool.
Yoni: I thought holy crap, a blind date. I’m excited.

What were your expectations going into the date?
L: Well, I really just wanted to be famous in the newspaper, and I also wanted to experience what going on a blind date not knowing who it was, like, I’d love to try this. I was really excited to find out who it was. I didn’t really have many expectations. I was just excited about the whole idea of a surprise.
Y: I didn’t really have much expectation because being a blind date – it’s not what people do nowadays, so you can’t expect anything when you don’t know who you’re meeting.

I just sent you guys to Route 1. How did you decide where to go?
L: Well, I was nervous before about how we were going to decide because I like to plan things, and there was no point where we could – because we couldn’t talk before, so there was no planned anything, so when we got there, we shook hands, introduced, and then I said, “Want to go to Starbucks?” really fast to take care of it.
Y: Well, Starbucks is just kind of the classic place, I guess. I mean, really, where else do you need to go? It’s got the ambiance, the food.

So what did you guys talk about?
L: Life, death, high school … um, what else? Dogs.
Y: Everything. Family, school, the people sitting next to us. Yeah.

Dogs? How did that come up?
L: I don’t remember. I think he said something about how he brought his dog to school, and then he was talking about raccoons, and then I said, “I don’t like animals,” or something, and that’s when we knew we weren’t right for each other. He likes animals, and I don’t.

Why don’t you like animals?
L: I don’t know, I just can’t relate to them. I don’t know what to do with one, and that was where we really disagreed because I don’t know what to do with animals, like do you touch them, do you hold them? I just don’t know. And he said, “I relate more to animals than to humans.”

What was going on with the people sitting next to you?
Y: It was like a business meeting where people kept coming in and out.

Do you see yourself going on future dates?
L: I don’t know. The animal thing is really non-negotiable for me. I don’t think I could ever like animals. I can’t change, even for a man.
Y: I don’t think I’m ready for dating. … I don’t know where I am yet. We’ll see, down the line.

What was your overall impression?
Y: It was nice. It is nice to meet an absolutely random person, but yeah, I think I’m going to stick to dating other people, to meeting friends of friends and you know. Nothing against Laurie. It’s not like she was crazy.

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 ranking the highest, how would you rate the date?
L: It depends on what he’s rating it. Whatever he says, just put me down for the same thing.
Y: I’d say an eight because it was fun.