UC Funds Dates for Valentine's Day Proposal Winners

A few couples were blessed this Valentine's Day not by Cupid but by the UC, which awarded two $50 grants to students who submitted the most creative date proposals last week.

Mark D. Levin-Gesundheit ’16 and Ankit Gupta ’17 won the couples competition, while Eunice P. Lee ’17 won a $100 grant for the most creative group date proposal.

Over 60 people applied for a UC-funded Valentines Day, according to Council member C.C. Gong '15, who is an inactive Crimson editor. Proposals ranged from a single-person burrito binge to an eight-person naked brunch that would push “the boundaries of feminism full force.”

Gupta advanced a winning proposal to take his long time girlfriend Lucy L. Nam ’17 on a date commemorating the four years of their relationship. In his proposal, Gupta presented an elaborate plan to revisit memorable activities from previous dates, including bowling, pottery-making, dining at a Boston restaurant, and walking around while snacking on ice cream with sprinkles.

“I want to thank the UC for giving us the opportunity to go on such a great date,” said Nam, who added that the night was a great way to relive many moments with her boyfriend.

Levin-Gesundheit won attention and funding from the UC for a proposal that, according to Gong, went above and beyond a typical dinner idea.

The Thoreau-themed date involved Levin-Gesundheit taking his girlfriend of four months, who is an English major, to 80 Thoreau, an acclaimed restaurant in Concord, Mass. Levin-Gesundheit also planned to read select passages from Thoreau while keeping warm at Walden Pond with hot chocolate and blankets.

Lee won the group proposal category for an outing designed to forge “cultural connections.” Along with five other friends, Lee participated in different activities around the Boston area that would allow for the group to learn more about different cultures.

“Diversity here on campus is really amazing, and I just wanted to take advantage of that,” Lee said. “The UC grant gave us the really nice chance to try a lot of really fun things.”

Activities included a picnic in Boston Common and karaoke in Allston, which Lee said was particularly enjoyable when everyone sang along and laughed as Psy’s “Gangnam Style” played.

Gong noted that several other proposals, which were not accepted, displayed considerable sentiment and drama. She pointed to a date idea from Chris R. Lee ’14, who, according to Gong, would have won an award for most dramatic proposal.

“For 6-7 of my friends and one's other friend, and maybe a guy from Dunster but probably not, I propose that we escape Cambridge's pulsating vice grip and run away to a simpler place in a simpler time called: Boston,” Lee wrote. “More specifically, their movie theater. More more specifically, whichever room of that theater shows 'The Lego Movie.'”

The grants are part of an ongoing tradition for Valentine’s Day. Previous UC-funded dates have facilitated a marriage proposal and llama-hiking excursion.

—Staff writer Theodore R. Delwiche can be reached at theodore.delwiche@thecrimson.com.