Football is back, the temperature is starting to drop, soon the leaves will change colors, and girls will be pulling out their Ugg boots. Fall is almost here. The beginning of fall means that Cuffing Season is near! If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know what Cuffing Season is don’t worry. The oh so helpful Urban Dictionary lays it all out : “During the fall and winter months people who would normally rather be single or promiscuous find themselves along with the rest of the world desiring to be "Cuffed" or tied down by a serious relationship. The cold weather and prolonged indoor activity causes singles to become lonely and desperate to be cuffed”.
UAlbany has been in full effect for the past two weeks. I’m sure we’ve all noticed the cuties in our classes, on our halls, and in the Campus Center, but what are we going to do about it? Back in the day—aka my Freshmen Year—UAlbany Crushes was a popular Facebook page. The page has over 5,000 likes and is run by an anonymous person on campus. The page hasn’t had any action since early March 2015 and I don’t know why!
Without the presence of UAlbany Crushes the student population is damned to rely on Tinder, the Varsity Lounge, Washington Tavern, or awkward Campus Center eye contact to meet someone new. While these are all perfectly fine places to meet your significant other it’s not the best method for everyone. What happens if you like have a crush on this really cute Asian girl with a bad-ass ombré and Big Bang Theory stickers (and you LOVE Big Bang Theory) all over her laptop in your BLaw lecture, but you can never talk to her because there are so many people in the LC and she switches where she sits every time? Usually this would be the que for UAlbany Crushes!
How it works is that people use a Google link to anonymously profess their love, like, lust etc. for someone on campus. They can write whatever they want in the love note and within a few days a Facebook post on the page is posted. Depending on how clear the description of the person was i.e. if the admirer included a name, or a tattoo, or specific dorm etc. the person would be identified and maybe a love connection could be made.
The page is great because of the anonymity of it. UAlbany crushes eases the fear of being rejected in person. We all know everyone turns into a gangsta behind the keyboard. You get to find out if your crush is single without even revealing who you are! It’s so light-hearted and it doesn’t have to be that big of a deal. You aren’t proposing to this person! You can just mention that you think someone is attractive and peace out.This isn't to say that there's anything wrong with being single. If you're like me and you believe Single Ladies is your anthem then yasss. You do you boo! But, for everyone else who is tired of being Single AF then maybe UAlbany Crushes can change that...if it comes back.
I don’t know what happened to the person who ran the page or even who they are. I’ve heard a few rumors some people said they’ve graduated, went abroad, or got broken up with so they gave love the middle finger. Regardless of the reasoning this is a plea to bring UAlbany Crushes back. I remember watching my friends get a tag on a UAlbany crush. It was so sweet seeing them smile from ear to ear learning they had an admirer somewhere. We need more opportunities to make people smile! I read whichever ones pop up on my Newsfeed and they are usually really sweet; some creepy ones definitely show up every now and then, but overall Albany crushes does more good then bad. So, let's keep it up.
Whoever you are, if you are reading this, please bring UAlbany Crushes back to us! Cuffing season is approaching. The struggle is already real out here wouldn't you want to make it a little easier on your fellow Great Danes? I don’t know how many love stories have been made through UAlbany crushes, but it was still a great asset to UAlbany’s social life. And just in case you forgot…it get’s pretty cold in Albany. There’s nothing better than having a bae to Netflix and chill with during those colder nights.
