Column by CJ Conklin

What exactly does a girl have to put in her milkshake to bring all the boys to the yard? And guys, where can you sign up to drink whatever it is that magically turns toads into princes? Without even knowing it, every girl is the milkshake that some guy wants to drink (although I wouldn’t go up to a girl and tell her she looks like the perfect milkshake). Likewise, every guy is the toad that some girl will come along and kiss, transforming him into the man that he really is.

It sounds cliché, but there really is someone out there for everyone. Occasionally, there’s even two or three someone’s out there for one person, which Vince Vaughn calls “the jackpot.” The only problem is this: How do you attract that person to you, and even further, how do you keep that person?

Finding someone in college can be so difficult that students have created a Web site allowing them to interact with students on their campus as well as other campuses. CampusHook is an online dating-service site specifically designed for colleges. There are over 100 members registered on the site as part of the UK.

Many of us are weary of online dating services, though, and believe in developing a relationship with someone the old-fashioned way: going out on a date with them. Thirty-eight percent of people surveyed on www.topdatingtips.com say that looks are the first thing they notice about their date, with personality following at 17 percent. However, the same survey showed that 30 percent of people in a relationship find personality most important, while looks are at a mere 11 percent. Thus, we can conclude that a person is often initially attracted to someone because of looks, but upon getting to know them cares more about his or her personality.

There is nothing that turns heads like when a girl walks into a room with looks that turn heads. This doesn’t mean you have to be a five star, but rather that you take pride in your appearance. Sweatpants are comfortable, but sometimes you’ve got to reach deep into your closet and find something a bit more stunning. After you’ve found it and you find yourself out mingling, make sure to accomplish two things: friendly and flirty. Nothing attracts guys more than a girl who looks good and doesn’t stand over in the corner.

Similarly, while a guy may think his Steve and Barry’s “Rehab is for Quitters” shirt is so awesome that he should wear it every Friday night, or his “One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor” shirt, neither are going to impress a girl. If you look on the very bottom of your pile of clean clothes there might be a collared shirt somewhere. Put that on instead.

Looking good provides the initial attraction, but the hardest part in reeling in a fish isn’t setting out the bait. It isn’t even losing the fish once you have it on the line.

Looks can get you a, “Hey, how’s it going?” or a “How you doin’?” But they won’t get you much further than a few one-night stands.

If you do attract someone enough to get that first date, then it’s up to you to get a second one. You’ve got to find a way to show a girl that you don’t only think of her when Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” comes on, or sit with a guy on the couch on a Sunday afternoon while he yells at real-life football players because of their awful fantasy performance. The point is, do something for the other person just so you can spend more time with them. The longer you spend with someone, the more of your personality you get to show.

So ladies, next time you find that dazzling outfit in the back of your closet remember, “Your milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.” And guys, when you’re out sporting that collared button-down that you found next to God-knows-what in the bottom of the closet, remember that you’re a long way from causing warts. Then you’re on to stage two, the first date… good luck.