Is Valentine’s Day just a commercial holiday for America? Is there some benefit to this Christianized celebration of love? Even though Valentine’s Day isn’t celebrated in the same fashion as Ancient Rome, it still holds the same tradition of expressing love.
Eastern Michigan University’s community had mixed responses to affectionate feelings this week. Marcus Perez, a physics major, wasn’t the only student to call the holiday pointless. Perez said,
“Expressing love for someone should be something we do every day, not just on Valentine’s Day.”
Others said that the holiday is mostly marketed towards females. Criminal justice major Aaron Amin said, “Valentine’s Day is for the girls and Sweetest Day is for the guys.”
Still, not all students would agree that Valentine’s Day is just another hallmark holiday, and many still believe that there’s some romance left in it. One EMU student, Candace Kirby, said, “It’s an extra special day with surprises. Even though not everyone has a valentine to celebrate with it, it is a day to bring color to our gloomy month.”
Nikkie Pietron, meanwhile, brought up that it’s nice to see the festive colors, with everything being so gray out all the time.
A lot of students at EMU find that being single on Valentine’s Day is not a bad thing and that it’s another holiday you can celebrate if you feel like it, regardless of whether or not you’re with someone.
Many students miss the good old elementary school days of expressing love to everyone by handing out Valentine’s Day cards.
Joel Denney, a biochemistry major, said, “Love is for everybody and Valentine’s Day focuses too much on couples,” expressing that there should be more community events to share the love.
