Romance is an art, but can it be a science? 

While UofT boasts an ample collection of architectural wonders, facilities and events, the dating scene on campus leaves much to be desired. In true rom-com fashion, here are some tips on creating your own meet-cutes that could totally happen on campus. Use these to engineer your own rom-com moment, or play cupid and orchestrate a moment between two friends. Will it stay as a one-time interaction, or will something stronger build? Well, that’s your own business to manage.

A prerequisite is to dress to impress. This is the number one rule of getting noticed on campus. With a hefty student population of 61,000, the best way to express your subculture, your whimsy, and your taste is to wear it. 

Hart House is a wonderful historic building at the heart of campus. It also features a slew of tiny tables in its library. When you’re swamped with schoolwork, consider asking someone cute to share a table there. Sharing a small table with someone else in a cosy little nook and stealing glances is the definition of the forced proximity trope, and you can even get your work done in the process. Naturally, this can be replicated across different libraries. Just don’t do this in a library with a silent zone. Take your budding romance elsewhere!

If your schedule can only fit school, it’s not over for you. Consider targeting a classmate as your academic rival and show up to your professor’s office hours the same time they do. Compete to leave the best impression. Get familiar with their answers in tutorials and show up with a handful of rebuttals. Drive them crazy.

To attract the sentimental meticulous type (think Amélie Poulain), consider scattering your books around campus. Choose an author that’s generally regarded as cool (Didion? Kundera?), and really commit by heavily annotating it. Ooze the very essence of your personality in those annotations. Remember to leave your contact information so they can find you and give you a chance to express your gratitude. As with many things, this has a startup cost and the return is pretty unpredictable. But just entertain my vision….

With U of T’s reputation as a commuter school, we’re really underutilising the commuter experience here. Next time there’s a service interruption between St George and St Andrew (and there will be a next time), approach a fellow stranded student. Really listen to those grievances about the TTC. Commuter solidarity is a pretty good foundation to build on.

Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet features a really cute moment when Leonardo Dicaprio and Katie Danes lock eyes from opposite sides of an aquarium. Luckily for you, this can be replicated on campus. Consider perusing the Robarts exhibition on the ground floor and brood until somebody comes to meet your gaze. 

Hungry? Show up to various guest speaker events for the free pizza. Eventually you’ll be acutely aware of a fellow classmate doing the same. Approach them, pull them aside and tell them you’re onto them. The mutual recognition, shame and eventual collusion is something straight out of a movie (it’s from Fight Club).

You should always advocate for yourself, and this goes the same for your grades. Don’t be ashamed of asking for a grade bump, or at least a breakdown of an assignment you’re dissatisfied with. Who knows, maybe you’ll run into a fellow classmate who has the same angry protestations as you. And together, to the horror of your poor TA, you’ll be unstoppable.

Some more scenarios that are not out of a rom-com, but would really belong in a thriller:

If you’d like to take things into your own hands, the basement of Gerstein library has rolling shelves. This is perfect for terrorising someone by sandwiching them between books. Alternatively, you could orchestrate an accident where you’re the one stuck in the shelves and call over someone cute for help.

One of my friends got to know someone by accidentally dropping her water bottle from a balcony seat at Con Hall. I’m not encouraging this in any way. Just thought it was a cool concept. Don’t use a metallic bottle please.

So that’s it! An extensive but not exhaustive list of meet-cutes at UofT. I wish you the best of luck with your endeavours, and don’t forget to have fun!