Column by Connor Jaschen, Features Editor

Look, “Netflix and chill” is not a date.

For those of you unaware of this sly way of getting someone to hang out with you, just imagine: you look down at your phone and you notice that guy that you met at some party and hadn’t talked to in weeks just texted you.

He doesn’t have money for a real date, but his parents just made the payment on their Netflix account and he has the password.

Yup, he isn’t fooling anyone with that one.

A “date” takes effort that most people in my generation just don’t have either the time or the resources to go through with.

I get it, though. College is where dating can get serious or even just begin for some people.

You’ll probably hang out with a lot of people during college, and taking each and every one of them out to August Moon could put a serious dent in your wallet.

Netflix and chill is more of a trial and, arguably, a necessary one.

By no means are you going to get to know someone thoroughly with a Netflix-night-in.

That being said, you could learn bits and pieces about them.

Do they talk during the whole movie? Kick them to the curb.

Are they on their phone the whole time? They just aren’t interested.

Are they just making moves on you the whole time? They just want in your pants, quite frankly. Do with that what you will.

Once upon a time, I was told the worst first date is going out to the movies; no one talks, you don’t know anymore about each other than you did an hour and forty-five minutes ago and you had to awkwardly share a small bag of overpriced popcorn with an almost total stranger.

Suffice it to say that sitting in a dark room in total silence may not be the best way to figure out if someone is wife material.

So don’t stop at Netflix and chill.

Take that person out to eat, even if it’s just a lunch date on campus. Try and get to know them.

Otherwise, that dark room is going to be filled with a whole lot of nothing.

If you really are interested in any sort of romance, there are other options.

Go grab some food, cook it up in your residence hall kitchens and take it out for a picnic in the Quad.

If you got the gas, anything at Land Between the Lakes is a win. There are plenty of beaches to swim at and places to see in the great outdoors.

If you’re brave enough for it and you’re not worried about being gored or arrested, take a bison home with you.

Nothing is more dramatic than a good, old bison wrangling and I’m sure your RA wouldn’t mind.

And there are plenty of fun on campus activities you can do together, if only to prove you’re not a “Netflix and chill” creep.