On Friday, Feb. 14, Carleton’s Student Activities Office (SAO) hosted its annual Date Knight. Over 600 students were set up on blind dates by their friends and attended a variety of club and organization hosted activities around campus.
Date Knight is an event that is always evolving. Over the years, it has morphed from “Screw Date” — focused on roommates setting each other up on bad dates — to its current lighthearted rendition. Although it has historically taken place in fall term, it shifted to winter term last year following SAO scheduling conflicts.
Jamie Klein ’25, a member of the Student Activities Programming Board, explained that even though students may view the event as cheesy, Date Knight still generates a significant buzz. In the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, students across campus talked to their friends about potentially participating in a Date Knight blind date. Although the identity of the match remained anonymous until the start of the event, both parties had to consent to going on a blind date. Some chose to go on a blind friend-date, while others went on a non-blind-date with their partner.
The overarching purpose of Date Knight is to have fun and spend time outside typical social groups.
“I think it’s a fun way for students, especially freshmen but not just freshmen, to get out and meet different people,” Klein said, noting that the event is supposed to feel a little corny and that the majority of students do not take the experience too seriously.
Date Knight officially began when students entered the Great Hall to find their blind date. Each pair received corresponding name tags; while some were classic, like “Yin looking for Yang,” others were more creative, such as “Mamma Mia looking for ‘Here We Go Again.’”
After finding their dates, students could select from a variety of semi-structured activities to get to know each other in a less- awkward environment. One of the most popular choices was free Boba with Asian Students In America; other options were yard games and balloon animals in the Recreation Center and ice skating on the Bald Spot with CANOE and Figure Skating Club. There were also a variety of shows, including a SUMO movie showing by SUMO, a comedy show by the Queens of Comedy, and performances by campus a cappella groups.
Some events are annual traditions, while others — such as the game shows put on by “Carleton’s a Drag” (CAD) — were new. Temitope Williams ’26 explained that CAD began this event after the club decided to cut back its number of annual drag performances from three to two.
Still wanting to have a presence in Winter Term, CAD considered a variety of options before landing on a Date Knight game show-style performance comprised of three major game shows and varying interlude commercials. Williams hopes that this might prove to be a more sustainable option for the club’s future since much of the advertising and logistics are coordinated by SAO. According to Klein, SAO allocates approximately $2,000 to help fund the event; most of that money goes towards club-run event expenses.
“The goal is to just bring people in and be a part of the fun they are having, make it an interactive experience for everyone,” Williams said. They further expressed hope that the event would allow people to have fun in an explicitly LGBTQ space and possibly help grow the club’s membership by allowing students with less experience to perform in a lower-stakes environment.
While Date Knight took place on a Friday this year, it will likely return to its typical Saturday date next year, allowing for it to land on Valentine’s Day once again.