For some, it takes a while to find a best friend. But a group of UK students fostered true friendships within 60 seconds.

UK’s Student Activities Board helped students expand their social circle with a Speed Friending. On Tuesday night, students had two hours to participate in a series of activities in the Holmes Hall Creative Arts Studio, hopeful to turn classmates into companions.

Originally inspired by speed dating, this platonic counterpart is no stranger to UK. Speed Friending made its first debut on campus last semester.

“I figured it would be the best way to make students feel comfortable,” said Siera Arena, director of the event.

She credited Louisiana State University for the idea behind speed friending. She said unlike speed dating, which can be “awkward,” speed friending is about “getting to know people on campus.” 

The new event brought in a respectable crowd of 30 to 40 students when it was first hosted in September. This semester, though the room wasn’t quite as full, the night was still full of smiles and laughs.

Students got to eat snacks and warm up to each other before the event started. There were students anxious to begin, like freshman Robert Buckmon, and those already comfortable, like freshman Shyla Harton. Both Buckmon and Harton came on a friend’s recommendation.

Arena kicked off the event with an active icebreaker that required everyone to pick sides. She named two opposing things and asked participants to stand on the side they preferred: cats or dogs, Netflix or Hulu, Nicki Minaj or Cardi B. Everyone easily vocalized why their choice was the better of the two.

Then came the main event, the speed round. The group was split in half, everyone facing one another. A series of questions were displayed on a board and one minute was put on the clock. Question topics ranged from bucket lists to spirit animals. Many times the conversations went way passed the timer. Since there wasn’t a large crowd, students got the opportunity to ask each person more than one question. By the end of the game, everyone had remembered each person’s name.

Finally, students played Celebrity Guess Who. One person wrote down a celebrity name while the others tried to guess who the person was. The guesses came fast and funny as each celebrity picked was harder than the last.

When asked about this semester’s turnout compared to the last, Arena said she was expecting more people. However, she wasn’t disappointed by the end result. 

“The small turnout helped everyone be close and intimate,” Arena said. “It was really relaxed. The conversation was flowing more naturally than last time.”

Overall, the few students who did show up seemed to really enjoy themselves. They had learned about each other’s quirks and preferences while cracking jokes the whole night.

“Even though not a lot of people came, it was still fun,” Harton said. “I’d recommend everyone.”