With social interaction stalled, an app to connect classmates, “Amigo,” launched on campus in early December to connect students.
The app, created by Stanford graduates, is reminiscent of Tinder, but is for making friends exclusively on campus instead. Users can message different people, create groups and even play in-app games with other students, according to its website. The algorithm connects people based on interests that users fill out when creating a profile.
Joaquin Lopez May ’24 currently serves as the Cornell campus ambassador for Amigo and said the app plans to host a range of events for the Cornell community.
“Amigo plans on sponsoring several campus events including hackathons and hospitality conferences, to make it easier for students to meet new people,” he said.
Posts promoting Amigo were spread around Cornell chats and social media; Gavin Murphy ‘24 was one of the many who saw them and downloaded it in hopes of meeting different people.
“Even though it just came out, Amigo has helped me meet a lot of new people that I’m excited to see once I’m back on campus,” Murphy said.
Max Rauch ’24 said the process for setting up an account was seamless.
“It was really easy to set up my account; it worked right away with my Cornell email and I put in my interests and it immediately suggested people to message,” Rauch said.
Both Murphy and Rauch said they downloaded the app mainly because of COVID-19, hoping the app could help them connect with people on campus they otherwise never would have met.
“I feel like I really have only been able to meet people in the freshman class, so I wanted to try out Amigo to connect with people in other grades,” Murphy said.
Lopez May saidt Amigo’s founders do not anticipate students will use the app only during COVID-19, as they expect the app to become a mainstay in the Cornell community even after the virus is gone.
“Amigo is planning on running far beyond the time of COVID in hopes of making it easier for students to make friends with people who hold the same interests,” Lopez May said.