The point of the dating described in the article wasn't for the students to get laid, or to spend a lot of time or money. The point was to get them to show some

The point of the dating described in the article wasn't for the students to get laid, or to spend a lot of time or money. The point was to get them to show some backbone by asking someone out in person, spend maybe $10 on the date, and to have it last perhaps 90 minutes. She was making the point that in current US culture, among college-age people, it's more common to ask someone out impersonally (e.g. via text message, Tinder, etc), and for the purpose of the "date" to be sex. It's less effort to do that than to make a real connection with someone else.