Finding True Love on a Wednesday Night?
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The second annual “Pop the Balloon” dating event, sponsored by the Haitian Student Union in collaboration with the African Student Association and the Caribbean Student Association, had a packed house in the Multi-Purpose Room on February 12. The event exceeded expectations and drew between one-hundred and fifty to over two-hundred attendees despite the overall trend of low campus interest.
At 7 p.m the house was standing-room-only. Students stood against the walls, their phones buzzing away as seven women stood on stage, each holding a balloon. Men approached them one by one and talked to them and answered their questions, and the women made their intentions clear. If they were not interested, they popped the balloon; otherwise, they didn’t.
The inspiration behind this event comes from a YouTube dating show, where people show their interest in each other with balloons. The person can choose to hold on to a balloon if there is a potential connection or pop it if they believe there is not.
At the first version of the event last year the men controlled the balloons. However, this year, the tables turned, and it was the women holding the balloons instead.
“It’s a switch up,” said Kenny Geffrard, a senior and HSU’s campus liaison, as well as president of the Black Student Union. Geffrard was also one of the co-hosts of this event. Geffrard said, “It was originally thought up by our former president, Kiara Lewis, who graduated last year. She had this dating event on campus, kind of like ‘Love Island.’ I was a part of it, but when Pop the Balloon started becoming popular, we decided to change it up.”
Mustafa Abdus-Sabuur, who oversees campus events, helped coordinate the room reservation, with organizers emphasizing the importance of holding the event during Valentine’s week.
Last year, it was held in South ABC but this year it was held in the Multi-Purpose Room, which is symbolic of its increasing popularity. Geffrard pointed out, “It’s a big deal. That’s where we hold our events when we think there’s going to be a large number of people coming.”
“We definitely maximized the space this time,” said Jasmine Clervil, a senior and HSU president.
Both years, however, have had their own set of challenges. According to Clervil, getting participants has been the biggest challenge. “Last year, our male participants literally confirmed the day before the event,” she recalled. “It was up in the air whether we’d even have anyone. But this year, we’re having a lot of underclassmen sign up, and our upperclassmen are taking their time. Still, even though it’s been touch-and-go, I was really touched by what the students wrote in the sign-up sheet.”
The participants represented a wide range of class years, including freshmen, sophomores, juniors, three seniors, and two graduate students, which made the lineup diverse and unpredictable. The crowd was full of energy. There were plenty of laughs, unexpected twists, and even a moment where a male contestant went up and someone in the audience called his past partner to tell them what he was doing.
“A lot of people are talking about finding true love, ” Clervil said. “Everyone knows the Pop the Balloon show isn’t taken very seriously by many, but after seeing those responses: ‘true love’—I thought, okay!” Clervil hopes the participants enjoyed themselves even if no one won the contest. “They’re putting themselves out there, ” she said. “That’s the point.”
“Although we struggled early on to fill the male lineup, we were fortunate to end up with five solid participants, and the event turned out to be incredibly enjoyable. The energy, surprises, and crowd engagement made it one of our most memorable events yet,” Clervil added.
Geffrard expressed, “Since I’ve been a student leader, there’s been a decrease in student engagement each semester since last year. I’m a senior now and I’m still seeing more of a drop.” However, the turnout for the dating show gave him hope for the future. “I hope they take away that college is fun and that more students start showing up, ” he said. These events we’re hosting: my wish is that the underclassmen see it and think, oh, I could host this next, or I could be a part of it.
The partnership between HSU, ASA, and CaribSA is intentional. “We opened it up to the orgs of color after working with ASA the previous year and CaribSA the year before that for the event,” said Clervil.
Geffrard continued, “So, reaching out to other students outside of those groups is part of the process, too.”
“Whenever people hear Black Student Union or Haitian Student Union or African Student Association, the usual reply is, ‘I’m not Black, though,’” said Geffrard. “We have to tell them, because it’s clear that’s what they’re thinking.” He stopped for a moment. “Yeah, it weighs on us. It’s just another aspect of the role.”
The evening ended with six matches. Both Clervil and Geffrard are seniors. Kiara Lewis graduated last year and left something she created for them. Now, they hope to pass it on.
Before the event, Clervil explained what she hoped to accomplish. “If we can count on a good turnout, that will be my greatest reward.”
After all the registered participants finished their turns, five unregistered male members of the audience asked if they could go on stage during the final 30 minutes of the event. Two of them succeeded in keeping their balloons from being popped and got matches. The balloons burst. The girls, realizing they might have judged their potential valentines too soon, asked for new ones. The room was full.
Organizer and HSU President Clervil was happy about the outcome of the event and ecstatic about what’s to come: “We’re excited to keep the momentum going with our upcoming events, including Celebrity Wannabe on March 26, 2026, and another romance-themed event coming in late April. Stay tuned.”
The night ended with six couples in matching pairs, and the audience chose the winner of the night by cheering. The winning pair was Makai Crawford, a freshman at Rutgers-Camden, and Kristina Gray, a junior at Temple University. Every contestant brought something different to the stage, some were more serious, others were there for a good time, but together they all created a lively, entertaining atmosphere.
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