The Omnibus

Issue date: 12/4/03 Section: The Gallery

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At least once a week, the same echo of frustration comes from men at Southwest Baptist University. It is the frustration about "the ladies." Oftentimes, the problem is that a lady has responded to a date request in some obscure way (i.e. the "dating Jesus" theory), or when on a date, she has put on an acting performance comparable to one of the flying monkeys on "The Wizard of Oz." The Omnibus recently interviewed one male student from each grade level to gather dating advice to give women. Two main questions were directed to each male: "How should a girl respond to a date request?" and "How should a girl act on a first date?"

The question on responding to a date request was of great interest to the men. Each had their own opinions on the subject.

"She should be polite about it and truthful," senior Joshua Jones said. "If she wants to go out with the guy, she should do it. Otherwise, don't say yes."

It is obvious a man wants a woman to comply with a date request, but men want that "yes" to be truthful. They do not want a positive response to come because of an ulterior motive.

"I, of course, want the girl to say yes," freshman A.J. Moore said, "but, I do not want them to say yes because of something such as pity. This can lead a guy on."

Clarity in answer is very important. A guy does not want to have to go through countless interpretation methods. Men want a woman's "yes" to be "yes," and "no" to be "no."

"The girl needs to answer yes or no," sophomore Eric Hennig said. "We do not want gray answers where we can't interpret what she means."

"A girl should never say, 'I'll think about it,'" junior Clinton Sharp said. "They need to say yes or no and not play any mind games."

After accepting a date request, the men commented on how a lady should act on a first date.

"The girl needs to just enjoy the time," Jones said.

"The girl needs to be herself and enjoy her time," Hennig said. "If the date doesn't work out, just grin and bear it; it's only one date. You're not marrying us."

One tip all the guys mentioned was for the lady to be herself.

"I think the girl needs to be herself and not pretend," Sharp said. "She needs to be prepared to talk, but not to put on a face. I don't want her to show up in sweat pants, but I want her to be herself."

The strongest comment from each of the guys was for the girl to be real in her actions. The guys all agreed they want someone who is genuine and real.

"A girl needs to act like herself," Moore said. "I would rather have an honest girl than a fake one."

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