Like any other college environment, dating in the Atlanta University Center (AUC) certainly has its challenges. In a small campus setting, where everyone knows almost everyone, it can be hard to get to know someone without prior judgment. However, it can be done, and our Cutest Campus Couple, Zoë Mayfield and Jarvis Owens, are a testament to how love can happen when you least expect it. Introducing the first Campus Cutie’s “Cutest Couple” in the AUC.
Name: Zoë Mayfield
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Classification: Senior
Major: Sociology
Name: Jarvis Owens
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Classification: Alumni-Class 2014
Major: Biology
How long have you been going out?
Jarvis: About a Year.
Zoë: And thirteen days
How did you all become friends and who made the first move?
J: Well…I was in Woody (Robert W. Woodruff Library) working on a paper during my Senior year and her Sophomore year. She was typing a paper. I had seen her around before and thought she was cute. I decided to ask her for her phone number, but she wasn’t really feeling me. When I realized this, I decided to leave her alone for about a month. At one point I would tweet J.Cole lyrics, because I knew she liked J.Cole.
Z: I’ll tell you my side [laughs]. I was working at an internship and working at night. I really wasn’t looking for a relationship, but when I gave him my number, he kept blowing my phone up. One day we had an argument and he basically came out and said that it would be easier for me to be nice to him, than to be mean, and then that’s when I decided that we would be cool.
Do you feel that dating in the AUC is hard, because it is small?
Z: Yes, because you have to be honest with the other person and honest about your past, and a lot of people struggle with that.
J: I would say the mindset is hard as a result of a culture, but everyone is basically hooking up.
How do you two handle disagreements/arguments and what do you feel is the best way to handle it?
Z: We’re growing to handle it well. The thing is that Jarvis and I are very different. He’s very chill and doesn’t get worked up. Me on the other hand I’m very emotional. [Laughs] So we usually meet in the middle to sit down and talk.
J: The thing is that she’ll let me know when she’s mad. But I think that the best thing to do is actually listening to the other person and understanding where they’re coming from. It’s somewhat of a sacrifice.
What is your favorite thing about the other?
J: My favorite thing about Zoë would have to be her tenacity. To an average guy she may come off as intimidating, so for me personally it made me step my game up. I knew that I couldn’t come at her sideways because she deserves the best and she knows she does.
Z: Honestly, Jarvis is my best friend. He’s always been supportive and really understands me. At the age of 21, it is hard to find someone like that, and to us there is nobody else.
What is one thing you don’t like about the other person?
Z: I would have to say how chill he is. I’m very high strung and make everything this big dramatic thing all the time, but I know that’s a good thing, because we both can’t be be dramatic all the time.
J: I would have to agree; very dramatic and impatient.
What’s the perfect date?
Z: We kind of have a dating rhythm. We normally do stuff that’s familiar like: going to Piedmont Park, looking at puppies, and everything we do has to involve ice cream, because I love ice cream.
J: Ok. So I would do it step-by-step. First step: rent a hotel. Step two: fill it with rose petals everywhere. Step 3: pick something out for her to wear and then run a bath with candles beside it.
How do you guys spend anniversaries and birthdays?
J: Well for Valentine’s Day I actually did the whole perfect date idea with the bubble baths and dinner.
Z: Yeah, we do birthday cards, balloons, goodie bags; I use to leave little notes on his car, wishing him to have a good day.
J: Same. I use to leave her favorite candy on her car.
How did you balance spending time together with schoolwork, extra curricular activities, and hanging with friends?
Z: It wasn’t hard because we communicate with each other if there were any issues and we also study together.
J: Like for example, all during Senior Week I was having a good time and she understood how much it meant to me. It was a good feeling knowing that she was at home waiting for me to get back to her.
If you had a baby, what would their name be if it were a boy and if it were a girl?
Z: If it were a boy we would name him Jarvis Bryant Owens Jr. and if she were a girl we would name her Bryson.
J: Agreed
What is your definition of love?
J: My definition of love is Zoë. Finding someone who loves me unconditionally is one of the realist things I’ve ever experienced. She loves me just as much as she loves herself.
Z: My definition would have to be being with your best friend, because he literally is my best friend I can tell him anything. But it also is where the love is mutual and you both are committed to each other.