"Williams students don't date." That's what any of our social psych professors will tell you--though bear in mind that they are only repeating the words of their frustrated students.
If you take "dating" to mean "going on dates," then the above statement might be right. One rarely hears of someone taking someone else on a date. This could be because if you don't know the object of your affection very well, a date can be awkward. (Never mind that squillions of young people past and present manage to swallow their fears.) In such a small community, you might feel like you're in a spotlight for seeking such personal social attention and making your feelings known. It's often much easier to encounter the desired person in a group setting where everyone is slightly to extremely inebriated, such as a party.
If you DO know the object of your affection well, then why would you bother setting up something as formal as a "date"? It often seems unnecessary to do so when you can just hang out.
Nonetheless, there are many reasons to ask someone out on a date, whether you are a guy or girl. It's worth taking a leap.
So, assuming that you are now convinced into asking someone on a date, what should you do? Well! The breathtaking rural beauty of the Purple Valley, combined with Williamstown's bustling urban center, should leave no dating-inclined student bereft of options.
- Restaurants (classic)
- Images Cinema (classic)
- Walk in Hopkins Forest
- Go to the playground next to the cemetery above the Green River (It has swings! Everyone loves swings.)
- Go to a contradance
- Simply meet for lunch in a dining hall (EASY. NOT AWKWARD.)
- Go to a sports game
- Go to a concert
- Attend some other kind of campus event together
- Serve your community (seriously! like this, for example. conversation can feel more natural when you're both semi-engaged with some other task, and this is a helpful task too.)
- Do homework together (warning, study breaks may occur.)
- Play Bananagrams
- Snack Bar
- etc.
Other resources
- Relationships. The desired result of most dating.
- Course equivalent units. A relationship gives you one.
- Making out. Places where those who are dating have done just that.