Coronavirus has forced hundreds of college campuses to send students home and transition classes online in an
effort to contain the outbreak. Several students are sadly facing the reality that they may not be able to
return to campus at all this semester. After the hustle and bustle of campus, many have expressed feelings of
loneliness or isolation from being separated from friends and classmates.
Undergraduates at Yale University believe that social distancing doesn’t have to come at the cost of human
connection. We created “OKZoomer”, a matching service that connects students to new friends or potential
partners.
The original Google Form was posted on an Ivy League meme Facebook page in a half-joking, half-wistful attitude
with the description: “Scared of social isolation? Fear not, zoom will keep us together."
The form went viral, spreading from student to student, college meme page to college meme page. Students entered
information such as their college, year, preferred gender, and whether they were seeking a friend or date.
The response was overwhelming. In two days, close to 2,400 students had signed up, representing 170 colleges and
universities from all over the United States. Students from UC Berkeley, Yale, Cornell, and UT Austin made up
the largest groups.
