A single male is looking for a long-term relationship with a single female.

This type of personal dating advertisement isn’t commonly found in college newspapers. Only one of 13 Illinois college newspapers researched offers personal dating ads.

Southern Illinois University’s Daily Egyptian receives about $200 a year to provide a link to www.dawgdates.com, which allows students to join for free and search member profiles. The link is featured in both the online and print version of the Daily Egyptian.

Member profiles on Dawg Dates show a detailed description of the person, including physical characteristics, age, ethnicity, religion, education, smoking and drinking habits, location and type of relationship desired.

Dawg Dates members give first names only and are not necessarily SIU students.

Amy Pelz, a senior journalism major at NIU, said she would use personal ads if the service was offered in the Northern Star.

“I think it would allow students the opportunity to meet different types of people who do different things for fun,” she said.

There are many dating service Web sites, including www.collegepeoplemeet.com, where people can go to find that special someone.

Maria Krull, business adviser for the Northern Star, said provisions for personal ads have been discussed and considered in the past. However, the decision always was against the service, partly because of cost and legal issues, she said.

If the Northern Star offered personal ads to students, it would have to be through a separate link, similar to Dawg Dates, to avoid legal and safety issues, said Brent Renken, advertising manager for the Northern Star.

Brett Falkenberg, a post-graduate journalism major at NIU, said he sees himself as a sociable person and enjoys going out with friends. However, he said he would much rather meet someone in person or chat online than resort to a dating service.

“I’ve never used a personal ad in my life,” Falkenberg said. “Why would I start now?”

Part of the reason Falkenberg won’t use personal ads is because he has a girlfriend. He also said personal ads are a desperate measure to find a date. He thinks printed personal ads are becoming outdated and people are turning to the Internet instead.

The concern of attracting undesirable people is why some people won’t use personal ads to meet people.

Kristin Leavy, a senior journalism major at NIU, said she doesn’t feel comfortable using personal ads because she’s afraid of who will respond. She said she enjoys meeting people while she’s out with friends.

“I’d rather have my friends set me up with someone,” Leavy said.