Although Valentine’s Day is traditionally a day dedicated to celebrating romantic love, more and more people on campus are changing the narrative using the day to recognize all types of love — including a love of eating chocolate. 

Madeline DiMarco doesn’t have a date for Valentine’s Day, but she still plans to celebrate in her own way. 

“I’m probably just going to eat chocolate and hang out with my friends,” DiMarco, a first-year engineering major, said. “I think it’s cute when people are in a relationship and they celebrate.” 

Morgan Tyler, a sophomore actuarial math major, echoed DiMarco’s sentiments. 

“I’ll probably just hang out with my friends, have a nice little Galentine’s moment,” Tyler said. “I think it’s a nice concept, celebrating love and everything. For some people it can be a little bit stressful if they don’t have a special someone, [but] I think it’s become normalized to just hang out with friends.” 

Other students are taking advantage of organized Valentine’s events in lieu of personal plans. 

“I do not have any plans for Valentine’s Day,” Ashley Pennock, a sophomore English writing major, said. “Today is the Valentine’s Day meeting for the creative writing LLC and we’re going to be writing poems, so that’s exciting.” 

Pennock said overall she enjoys the holiday and what comes with it. 

“I think [Valentine’s Day] is good,” Pennock said. “I got to put up some cute gel clings on my door. My mom sends me chocolate. I have no complaints.” 

Julie McAndrew also appreciates the festive decorations and candy she can get during the Valentine’s season. 

“I like all the stuff that comes out, like all the heart stuff,” McAndrew, a sophomore microbiology major, said. “I went out with my friends and stuff. We usually do that every year, like a girls’ night.”

Rachel Wang, a first-year engineering major, feels she is one of the few that doesn’t care about the holiday regardless of if she’s in a relationship or not.

“I’ve never been a Valentine’s Day person, personally,” Wang said. “I was with my ex for 3 1/2 years and we never celebrated Valentine’s Day. I just didn’t care about it that much.”

Even though Bridie Flanigan, a junior psychology and law, criminal justice and society major, is in a relationship and plans to celebrate a romantic Valentine’s Day, she also equally celebrates other forms of love. 

“I kind of love it,” Flanigan said. “I think that modern Valentine’s Day isn’t so much about romantic couples anymore. Now you have a lot of Galentine’s things and connecting with your friends, and I think that everybody just celebrates it as a time of love in general. I think that’s so cute. I think it’s so fun that it’s just something everybody enjoys.”