Valentine’s Day was in full swing on the hilltop as student clubs and organizations hosted a multitude of sales and activities to celebrate the holiday. Students across campus were provided with many unique opportunities to celebrate this special day of love, whether it was to get a gift for that special someone, to create your own unique Valentine craft or to simply attend events and join in on the festivities.
Many student-led clubs and organizations set up their booths on Ragsdale Lawn Feb. 13 and 14 to use the holiday for fundraising opportunities to support their groups. Organizations such as the SEU Climbing Team and Command G offered various Valentine’s Day goodies for sale, including flowers, Valentine’s Day cards and sweets.
Command G took a personalized initiative with their fundraising. Along with a variety of flowers to choose from, such as baby’s breath, sunflowers, carnations and tulips, members of the group used their different artistic skills and abilities to create unique designs for Valentine’s Day cards.
Junior Liam Molina, a graphic design major and member of Command G, says that each card design served as a way to showcase each member’s art styles to other students.
“The cards and their designs come from a very authentic place,” Molina said. “And every member based their Valentine design on something they personally enjoyed.”
Aside from the sales and fundraisers, other clubs on campus wanted to make their own contributions to the holiday simply for other students to enjoy themselves and try something new.
The Bring Your Own Yarn club hosted a Valentine’s Day craft night where they taught students how to crochet their very own heart. Club officer Sully Snook explains that they and the other members wanted to provide students with the chance to make something of their own in homage to the holiday.
“Many Valentine’s Day events on campus center around buying new things,” Snook said. “But our crochet tutorial gave attendees the ability to make something of their very own.”
In addition to the festivities on campus, a new student-led club, the Fun Club, hosted their very first event on Valentine’s Day: a “Grab and Go Love Yourself” event. The purpose of the event was to help promote self love amongst the student body. They provided students with free roses, cards, baked sweets, candy and cute Valentine’s accessories such as glasses and headbands.
“We organized this event to allow students to not only treat their loved ones on a designated day, but to also show love to themselves,” club president Mai Hassan said.
Valentine’s Day is a day that is notorious for its emphasis on romance, but it is also a day that should celebrate love of all sorts. Whether it’s through kind words, gift-giving or quality time with your significant other or loved one, it is a day to showcase your love and appreciation to those you care about.
“Whether it be romantic, platonic, familial or just a love of your fellow human,” Snook said. “I appreciate the inclusion of all types of love being celebrated.”
