With Valentine’s Day approaching, some people will be preparing to take their significant other out for a special night, while others will spend a fun night with friends. Others will be trying to just ignore that the holiday is even happening. No matter what your plans are, an important question remains: is Valentine’s Day worth all this hype? Seton Hall students weighed in on this issue and shared their opinions on the holiday.
Julia Lomonte, a freshman creative writing major, said she is a big fan of the holiday and that she believes single people can also find ways to enjoy Valentine’s Day.
“I think that for single people, Valentine’s Day kind of gets a little bit of a bad reputation because it reminds people that they’re alone,” Lomonte said. “However, I think everyone should celebrate it because everyone has one person in their life that they love, at least one. I like to just hang out with my friends because I love them, and we have fun together.”
Lomonte believes that everyone should celebrate the holiday because everyone has one person in their life that they love.
Shanice Bedford, a freshman biomedical engineering major, also talked about spending Valentine’s Day with friends.
“I feel like Valentine’s Day has gotten the connotation of you have to be in a relationship to enjoy it,” Bedford said. “But you can spend it with your family, close friends, coworkers or really anybody that you love. I am spending Valentine’s Day with my friend. I’m handing out Valentine’s Day cards and candy bags.”
Lomonte said that she thought the holiday was over-commercialized. Bedford agreed it was commercialized, but did not see that as a bad aspect of the holiday, however.
“I think it’s commercialized just enough, like the same way Christmas is,” Bedford said. “I think with all the added stuff, it really adds to the effect of making someone feel special.”
Melanie Liriano, a freshman speech pathology major, said she had a different view of Valentine’s Day. She talked about how the holiday is over-commercialized. She also said that people should treat their significant others special the whole year and not just on one holiday.
“I think it’s an over-commercialized holiday that makes people feel good about their failing relationships,” Liriano said. “They can go and make up for the fact that they’re a bad boyfriend by getting some played out roses. I think if it’s a holiday meant to surround people with love, you should just surround them with love all the other 364 days of the year. You shouldn’t use this one holiday to be an excuse for the fact that you were a terrible partner.”
Students also shared whether or not celebrating Valentine’s Day was feasible on a college student budget, with some wondering if the holiday could be enjoyed without spending too much money.
“I think with or without a good budget, you could spend Valentine’s Day however you want to,” Jasmine Kang, a freshman undecided major, said. “It’s not about the money, it’s all about the love.”
“I think it can be hard because there are some things that would be fun to do that are kind of expensive, like going out to a nice candle-lit dinner,” Lomonte said. “Still, there are definitely ways to do it on a budget. I usually just hang out with my friends and we make it fun.”
“I think it’s possible to still have fun without spending too much money,” Bedford said. “The main goal is letting someone know you love them.”
Genevieve Krupcheck can be reached at genevieve.krupcheck@ student.shu.edu.
