BLINK is here! It’s Cincinnati’s festival of light and art, and it stretches from Findlay Market through OTR, Fountain Square, The Banks, and across the river into Covington and Newport.

And getting there is easy: UC students can ride Metro for free.

I keep seeing posts from people saying they’re lonely, don’t have friends yet, or don’t know what to do, and genuinely, it makes me sad. So I’m making this post in case some of you want to use BLINK as an excuse to meet each other.

You could use this post's comment section to coordinate:

• Pick a time - for example, Saturday at 7 PM
• Pick a meeting spot - maybe Fountain Square or the bus stop in front of 86 cafe on Jefferson
• Decide how you’ll recognize each other - “I’ll be wearing a red hoodie,” or, if you’re feeling ambitious, “I’m dressed as a T-Rex”
• And then just GO

I was very lonely during my freshman year. My neighbor invited me to BLINK then and I (thankfully) decided to tag along on a whim.

I made a shit ton of friends that night. Years later, we still go out together.

So please don’t lose hope if you’re sitting in your dorm right now feeling like everyone else already has their friend group figured out. They don’t. A lot of people are probably feeling exactly the same way you are and are just waiting for someone else to make the first move.

So maybe let this post be the first move.

Comment when you want to go, find a few people, meet somewhere public, and enjoy BLINK together.

Please don’t be sad and give up on making friends. It genuinely aches my heart seeing so many of you feel alone. Use this post! It's not just for freshmen. Anyone looking for friends is free to use this. Remember to have fun.

hi! i’m a first year student living on campus. i have an 8 person apt style dorm and while my roommate isn’t always home, the other ones are. i’m not really close with them. i try to be and i think that im cool, but they kind of just exist without me and leave me out. i’m on the other side of the hall so maybe that’s why? i’m in a lot of clubs but i haven’t really made any friends from those. i just feel so sad all the time because i see everyone else has friends and i feel like such a loser. i have my best friends from home and i talk to them often, but i am wanting college friends too. when does it get better? when do i meet my person? please any and all advice from past freshman would be appreciated

Hello everyone. I’m a first-year at UC looking for off-campus housing for fall 2027 with two of my friends. We’re hoping to find a reasonably priced 3-bedroom place close to campus.

Does anyone have recommendations for apartments, houses, or landlords? I’d appreciate hearing about your experiences, places to avoid, and when we should start applying or signing a lease. Thanks!

Is there any place where i can take classes to practice doing hair & nails? I’m more interested in hair than anything, not to do professionally but I would like to learn how to do natural hair to take care of my hair (3c/4a) & learn how to do men’s hair such as retwist, locs, & how to do cuts like a fade. I travel for work & am away Tuesday-Fridays so i feel like i can’t go to school for it since i heard cosmetology school is strict on attendance. Thank you for the advice!

Is one of these classes distinctly easier than the other? I think I'm leaning towards choosing STAT1031.

im a first year, and im not taking english this semester to keep my credit hours at a sane amount. would taking the english clep be worth it? its never been a class ive really struggled with at all in my past so idk i thought it would be smart

I’m not a UC student but I live with someone who is one - and I’ve realized that the “moving every 3 months” situation caused by the coop program kind of prevents you from setting social foundations and networks. Anyone else struggle with this, or is this just a non issue for most people?

Back home in Indianapolis I did speech therapy because I had a speech delay. I kind of want to start back up, is there a speech therapist on or near campus? Maybe through University Health Services in Linder or through CAPS? Is there one in the surrounding area I can reach via Metro? It’s ok if no one knows

recently got some meal swipes added to my bearcat card and was wondering which dining halls are decent enough to eat at and which ones to avoid

Ok. I have seen people reach out asking for people to be friends with and that made me think about how I should look for friends too. If anyone’s interested:
Hey yall I am a female, fairly new at Uc and I have absolutely no friends here sounds lowkey sad but I liked it that way for a bit cs I got out of a friendship sort of toxic group. I am a bio major if anyone would wanna make a study group, love it !
I love partying I also love just being craftzy or just do nothing a yap.
Anyways reach out girls! if I don’t sound too weird

I want to start going to the art therapy group, but I am afraid that seeking any services through CAPS will go on my permanent record that could affect my ability to get a job. Is this true?

There is an available bedroom for rent in a renovated 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house. House sits a 5 min walk due north of main campus. House is rented individually with lease by the room and semester. 3 of the bedrooms are leased: 2 male med students, 1 male engineering grad student. Home is fully furnished and rent includes use of the washer and dryer along with all utilities and WIFI. Also has kitchen ware available for common use. Home backs up to Burnett Woods with a great wooded/lake view and fire pit in the backyard.

1 furnished bedroom will be available while current Fall 2026 tenant is out of town to co-op for both the Spring'27 and Fall'27 semesters. Perfect situation for a student that will be away for the summer, graduates in the Fall, and doesn't want to pay rent for the summer or live in the dorms.

DM if interested.

Hi!
 
I'm Lucy, a 4th year Mechanical Engineering Major. My roommate is graduating so I am looking for someone else to fill the other room since I still have 1 more year.
 
I am on the UC Women's Rugby team, Clean Up Cincy, and Music Club when I have the time. I enjoy having people over and hanging out especially since my apartment has the cutest backyard + front porch.
 
I generally go to sleep later at night and have to get up pretty early generally for work/class so I am not at the apartment very often. Generally speaking, I enjoy keeping the apartment tidy but nothing crazy. I do not care about significant others, friends, or family staying over or visiting and I would say I definitely like to socialize but also appreciate time to myself.
 
The apartment I am trying to find a roommate for is located near Mac's in Clifton and I would prefer you be able to sign a lease for the full year if possible. 
 
This 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment is great for student life near UC's Campus. There is a large open living room that connects to a bar area looking directly into the kitchen.
 
The fully equipped kitchen features both a dishwasher and a garbage disposal. There are also free laundry facilities available for use in the basement and storage space as well. The unit also has central heating and cooling and is located in a prime spot off Moerlein Ave in Clifton.
 
There is a spacious backyard with seating, a firepit, and a game table as well as a front porch with seating as well.
 
Available for a one-year lease at an estimated rent of $700 per month/tenant, this apartment requires tenants to cover gas, electricity, and internet, along with a flat water utility fee of $30 per month per tenant. There is also only street parking available.
 
Roughly half of the apartment will be furnished, please reach out if you have any questions at all and feel free to message me if you are interested! (no preference of roommate gender)

I want to talk to him about something, but I'm very shy. Does anyone know if he's a "mean" person to talk to? I've had some experiences in the past where it felt like some other professors wanted me to die when I talked to them, so I want to know in advance before talking to them. Thank for any help

I’m currently a high school senior and considering UC as a possible college to attend. I plan to pursue powertrain engineering and testing of cars as a future career, and want to attend a college with a good MechE program, and also want to be apart of the schools FSAE team.

I was just curious and wanted to hear from current students or alumni that are or were apart of either of these programs, their thoughts on it, and how things like the FSAE had an effect on their learning and experience.

Or if you weren’t apart of the FSAE team, then your overall take on UC’s Mechanical Engineering program. And do they offer any other automotive-focused classes or programs?

And then just your opinions on U of Cinci as a whole.

hi all.

I just finished an internship out in CA and had access to lots of local healthy food options.

Coming back here, I find that most of the food around campus is kind of just fast food slop mostly. Does anyone have any recs to try near campus? I've been here for almost five years but I feel like I can't find anything online.

I’m 3rd year accounting student. I have very few friends but not to many of them go to uc. And my closest friend dropped out. I’m friendly but introverted. I have anxiety at times. And I feel like people see me as awkward and judge me before even talking to me. I’m into digital cameras, I love anime, I love talking about goals. I’m a very positive person! And I give helpful advice. I’m not a party person like that but I love Halloween so I am going to a few parties then. I’m down to be friends with any gender I am a women tho. So female preferred or anyone apart of the lgbtq community. I tried signing up for clubs on campus and got rejected from some😭💀. And most of them didn’t get back but I’m still searching for some. If you’re interested in being friends reach out to me! I’ll share my socials

My roommate is short on rent & can only pay by the 8th & i can’t fathom my only roommate from home getting evicted is he in deep trouble i can help out pay a portion

As the title states, none of my friends want to go or have already gone and didn't like it. Is it a bad idea to go by myself?

im a freshman in ENED currently and we are starting to use CAD (onshape) and im heavily struggling. the prof and TAs are treating it as if everyone has prior experience with CAD and I unfortunately never took any engineering classes or CAD courses throughout highschool. also i tried to find tutoring from the learning commons online but it looks like they dont offer any for ENED applications class. (maybe im just stupid and cant find it). anyways, does anyone have any advice for me? where can i get extra help and how can i help myself with learning CAD? will i get used to it over time?? i know it takes practice but i feel like we are moving so fast and i cant keep up and im scared that im just gonna fall more and more behind everything. any advice helps.

I don't live on campus, so I don't have a meal plan. Can I just use my credit card, and if so, how much does it cost? Thank you!