“There’s a dating scene in Museum School?” John Anderson asks in utter disbelief.

In the cold winter months… also known as “cuffing season,” all anyone wants to do is cuddle up with a boyfriend or girlfriend and sleep the days away. However, this is not the case for the majority single population of NYC Museum School.

Fia Pereira described the dating scene as, “Bad… It’s sad. It breaks my heart.” Junior Madeline Koo said that much of Museum dating was just “friends dating each other and swapping out.” Balancing romance and academics is extremely difficult for most students… so these are our top 5 ways to AVOID getting cuffed this season.

Academics First!
Prioritize your present and future. Juniors at Museum have strong opinions on their school’s dating scene. Junior Will Ridge, when asked about the lack of apparent romance for the Museum youth, stated he’s taking “the academic prioritization” route to avoid getting cuffed this season. You’re not getting a 5 on APUSH if you’re too busy being in “love.” Pereira commented, “If they’re spending time on another person, then they’re not studying as much and they’re not doing enough for their schoolwork.”

Cold Shoulder
Block them! Ghost them! It’s fine, we promise! The students we interviewed said they’ve ghosted between two to ten people in just their high school career. Not too many, but we all still have time to get that number up. Amihan Johnson described the action of ghosting as a word we cannot repeat in this article. She reiterated it as, “You gotta do what you gotta do.” Safe to say, it’s a bit controversial.

Bad Haircut
It’s winter, so you can just slap a hat on it for now. We’ve all – and I mean ALL– had a bad haircut or two… or three… or more. However, the great thing about hair is that it grows back. When asked if they would date somebody with a terrible haircut, Micheal Hagood IMMEDIATELY said no. Koo made an exception — “only if they have a really cute face.” Maybe some of us can get away with this one… but for the less facially fortunate… this is a guarantee to avoid getting cuffed.

Mental Health
Don’t let them give you a dark and twisted mind. Your heart and soul should remain pure and kind. When asked whether relationships in high school tended to be toxic, both Hagood and Ridge emphatically said yes. Ridge added, “a lot of people are figuring out who they are.” Johnson added that many people “don’t know what’s going on” when they enter their first relationship. Pereira emphasized the effects of the media, which “puts unrealistic expectations on people… most people either expect too much or do too little.” The overall consensus was that ‘bad’ relationships are, well, bad while healthy relationships can in turn have a positive effect on teens’ mental health.

Vow of Silence
You are ONLY allowed to flirt with your eyes… but they probably won’t pick up on it. That’s probably for the best. Ridge described, “avoiding… just not talking…” as his current game plan for this season. Junior Alfred Li stated he is not using any of the above methods, instead just “being himself,” which seems to be the most effective method to avoid the relentless cuffing season.