After tiring of swiping left, a group of OU students is bringing an algorithm-based matchmaking program to campus to help other students find their soulmates.
Student organizer of OU Marriage Pact and public relations junior Kait Collins said the online survey is designed to match its participants with the person they are most compatible with on campus. The survey collects participants’ demographics, values and contact information. Then, using a specially designed algorithm, Collins said the survey pairs people with their closest match.
“(The survey will) help customize your match and make sure your match is the best by your standards and not by anyone else's standards,” Collins said.
Collins said the Marriage Pact project originated from an economics project at Stanford University in California in 2017. The creators of the Stanford pact never expected the survey to go far, according to an article in the Stanford Daily.
Despite initial doubt, the Stanford creation has now expanded to multiple universities across the country, including Cornell, Yale and Columbia, according to Marriage Pact’s website. After hearing about the project, Collins said the OU organizers reached out to Marriage Pact to see how they could bring the project to OU.
The Marriage Pact seeks to match up college students who may be too busy with work or school to focus on finding a romantic partner, according to its website.
“Do you really want to look up from your cubicle when you’re forty to find yourself alone?” the website reads. “There’s no time to lose. Leave it up to our algorithm and find your perfect backup plan today.”
Collins said the pact has tried to separate itself from traditional dating apps. Every year, the survey at each university is only open for a limited period of time.
“It kind of provides a sense of urgency, because it's once a year, it's open one to two weeks, and then it's done for that year,” Collins said. “At other schools, people get super excited about it, and it'll be the talk of the town for that couple of weeks.”
Collins said the survey at OU will remain open until “sometime next week,” and students can complete the survey using this via their website. An official closing date for the survey has not been set.
“At the very least, you get matched with the person who identifies the most with your individual values and is the most compatible to you on OU’s campus,” Collins said. “Best case scenario, you meet the love of your life.”
