Advice Columnist Zuri Counsels a College Student on the Dating Life of the 21st Century

How to Make the First Move

Dear Zuri,

I am a very confident, smart, and witty college girl. As I walk around my college campus I happen to pass this cute college guy all the time. No matter where I seem to go I happen to be in the same place as he is (which is quite rare on a campus with over 50,000 college students). It is

 often said that it is not right for girlsto approach guys to initiate conversation because men thrive on the chase after a woman.

Would it be wrong for me to approach this guy and introduce myself? Would my forwardness deprive him of his male instincts and therefore make him uninterested from the get-go? Also what would be an acceptable "pick-up line" to approach him if that's an okay move for me to do?

My own opinion would be for me to simply just approach him and say "I see you around campus all the time and I thought that I would introduce myself. Maybe we should bump into each other on purpose sometime... Here's my phone number." Please let me know what you think on this topic.

Sincerely,
CB 9/85

Dear CB,

In the 21st century, it's not only sexy but attractive when a woman has the confidence to approach a guy and show interest in getting to know him better. If all women waited around for a guy to have the courage to initiate contact, they may miss out on a lot of great guys who may be a bit shy or that aren't even aware that a woman is receptive to a date with them. I feel your plan is right on the mark to just let him know that you've seen him around and want to give him your digits to hang out sometime.

You aren't asking him to marry you, just to see if you two have anything in common and if a potential relationship is even in the cards. The worst that can happen is that he's not interested and doesn't pursue anything. No real loss really and at least you have a clear answer so you can move on to new prospects. But, the flip side of that is that he does call you and it can be a great story to tell your friends a year from now about how you two met!