You're the One That I Want

Much to the chagrin of all the Harvard cynics who adamantly denounce the dating scene, kvetch about the lack of available hotties, and repetitively soothe their angst-ridden parents with the all-too-common "no one dates and falls in love at college anymore," there are quite a few Harvard couples who fit the archetypal fairytale. These lucky students have sifted through the mass of pseudo-intellectuals, physicists, Porcellian men, and Pitches to finally stumble upon that one special person to whom they can croon "It had to Be You." These students have evaded the Harvard meat market and have not had to search for a Layla, a showgirl named Lola, a red-lit Roxanne, a Jesse's Girl, a Run-Around Sue or an 867-5309 Jenny. Here are their lives. Brace yourself.

JEANNE & BRIAN

Color-coding

"We met in passing freshman fall after noticing in the Science Center that we were basically wearing the same outfit," Jeanne said. She joked that "maybe we should plan to both wear green the following day." The next day, they bumped into each other again. In his green attire, Brian eagerly hinted to Jeanne at their emerging inside joke. Jeanne thought it was totally weird for this guy to be color-coordinating his outfit around her. Jeanne said, "Brian, I didn't want you to think I was so literal." But Brian explained, "Well, I didn't want you to think I was a joke."

"In typical guy fashion Brian didn't call me after [our first] date," Jeanne recalls, "but the next time I saw him I just said, 'So when are you going to take me out,' because I liked him and I was a huge flirt freshman year." While Brian doesn't remember Jeanne's racy behavior because, according to Jeanne, "it was an affront to his masculinity," he still called her to take her out to "Evita" for their second date (and his second time seeing the movie). After watching the movie, which neither liked, Jeanne asked Brian why he had taken her since had disliked it the first time. Brian replies, cuddling closer to Jeanne, "I just wanted an excuse to be with you."

Most Romantic Moment

"The great thing about the beginning of our relationship was that it was always full of surprises," Brian said. "Probably one of the most romantic things that has happened is Valentine's Day our freshman year. I spent the whole day in the basement of Mower baking Jeanne this cake in the shape of a heart. I had planned to let Jeanne find it in my fridge after the Kroks concert, but she told me early that evening that she didn't feel like eating. I kept suggesting though, that we go back to my room. I thought for sure that she had found out about the cake."

Jeanne remembers that after the a cappella concert, "I really wanted to go to the Acropolis, this Greek restaurant my parents had gone to on their first date at Harvard. I was shocked that Brain actually agreed because the whole idea of going to that restaurant was pretty serious. So we walked down Mass. Ave. for two hours trying to find the restaurant, then realized that it had closed a long time ago. So we went to a convenience store and bought cheese and fruit to have a picnic in Brian's room."

When they got back to Brian's room, Brian found a chocolate heart taped to his door with an attached note saying, "Que les jeux commence!" It was the first clue to a scavenger hunt that took Brian all over his room. "Each note I found contained a clue, a chocolate heart, and one thing written on it that Jeanne loves about me," Brian fondly remembers. The notes expressed everything that Jeanne loved about Brian: his kiss, his enthusiasm, his taste in women and his purple sweater.

"The final clue led to my window where I found a stuffed animal hanging off the ledge that said 'Someone at Harvard loves you.'" Jeanne had gotten her roommates to decorate the whole room and plant the scavenger hunt clues while they were at the a cappella concert.

What qualities attract you to each other?

Grasping Jeanne closer within his arms, Brian gushes that, "The more I learn about Jeanne, the more I think she is beautiful in every single way. Jeanne is everything I admire. She is a role model as well as a best friend. I love her energy, her passion and her compassion." Kissing Brian passionately, Jeanne exclaims that Brian is "so sincere, so giving and so honest-he is a Boy Scout. I always wanted someone who would really appreciate me for me--a person who would embrace everything about me--all my neuroses. This is what Brain has done. I have a connection with him that no one can ever replicate. Knowing Brian, I feel that it's almost as if we've grown up together."

JENNY & OLIVER

How did you guys get together?

"We met through a mutual friend freshman week and decided to skip the Health and Safety lecture to go out for pizza," Jenny recalls. Meeting around the time of the High Holidays, Jenny and Oliver, both being Jewish, spent a lot of time going to services and eating together at Hillel. Jenny states that "there were definite signals of us liking each other, like we called each other every other day, but I was nervous to consider Oliver a boyfriend because I wanted time at the beginning of freshman year to just figure things out. So, I told everyone who asked that we were just kinda seeing each other." After many casual nights hanging out, Jenny and Oliver's first official date was at the happily erstwhile California Pizza Kitchen. They both remember having bad service and receiving free desert.

Advice to singles looking for love

Oliver believes that it is important to meet people with common interests and values "because those are the things you are attracted to. If you meet someone at a party the only thing you really have in common is that you like to drink."

How do you know you have found the one?

"We both always wonder how we are so lucky," Oliver said. Glowing with happiness, Jenny adds, "He's the best person I've ever met and I miss him when I'm not with him." Oliver agrees, with one reservation, "I don't know if Jenny is the best person I've ever met. I did hear Nelson Mandela."

SANDY & DANNY*

Falling in Love

Sandy and Danny dated pretty casually in the beginning of their relationship, but Danny coyly admits that "I discovered that she was, 'The One' when I went home for Thanksgiving Break." She had sent me a Smilogram that said something like, 'I hope we take more walks together' or something cheesy like that. Over Thanksgiving, when I took out my wallet and saw the Smilogram, I realized that this was not random anymore--it was a regular relationship." Danny still keeps the Smilogram in his wallet.

Most romantic moments

"Last fall, right after the summer, we went to Gloucester and stayed in a motel/bar with rooms above it. The motel was filled with old sailors drinking beer and playing pool at one in the afternoon. It was still a lot of fun and romantic though," Sandy jokes. "I guess we just don't do anything conventional!" The funny thing, Sandy says, is that all our friends now "equalate Gloucester and sex. Equalate...is that a word?"

Also, Sandy remember that on Valentine's Day freshman year, he took her out for French cuisine: ABP. According to Sandy, Danny, "being the jackass that he is, didn't make reservations." Valentine's Day sophomore year was even more romantic. Danny remembers that "we went to the Science Museum and saw Life Under the Sea. Once again we're just not conventional." Danny excitedly recalls that he had planted a picture frame in Sandy's room of both of them as babies. "I actually called Sandy's mom and put it together. I got a lot of points for that." Sandy also remembers that it was cute that she taught Danny "how to ride a bike because he had a demented childhood where he never learned."

What qualities draw you to each other?

Sandy adds that she loves Danny because he is "goofy and immature in a good way--like fun. Also, he's really good at balancing things; he gives good advice. I don't know, he's just good like that. We just kind of complement each other pretty well. A lot of things I don't have, Danny has. It's really healthy. We have an open relation ship almost to a fault."

Pondering what draws him to Sandy, Danny admits that he loves how she is "outgoing. She gives off a happy aura--she's just pleasant. Also, when she smiles it's like her whole body is smiling." Danny also explains that, most importantly, he thinks Sandy is a 'manhole,' a girl who is able to get along really well with guys because she has the personality of a guy." This is what he finds truly attractive. Suddenly realizing the sappiness of what he is saying, Danny says, "I'm gonna be kicked out of my room!"

LESSONS:

What have we learned from these three tales of real-life romance?

a.) If you don't meet freshman year, you're screwed. Or maybe not. There's always Crimson Key.

b.) You don't have to be drunk to get some.

c.) Don't be afraid to be cheesy. Really.

d.) A cappella is an aphrodisiac. So is ABP.

e.) The Acropolis is closed.

f.) Someone at Harvard can love you, too.