Marissa Wolff has never gotten lucky on Valentine’s Day.

In 10th grade the sophomore biology major was dumped by her boyfriend on the holiday of love because she was unwilling to perform certain sexual acts, and ever since then it has not been a good time for her.

‘I think (Valentine’s Day) makes people feel lonely because you’re supposed to share with someone, and if you don’t have someone to share it with then you’re a loser,’ Wolff said. ‘You’re not really a loser, but you know what I mean. Like, I’m a loser; I’m not going to share it with anyone.’

As Valentine’s Day approaches, angry and bitter stories of jilted love and loathing for the opposite sex can be heard all around the Syracuse University campus. Students are doing everything from mocking the paper hearts put up in the Schine Student Center cafeteria to showing contempt by putting black hearts all over their doors.

There seem to be many reasons for the harsh lack of love at SU. Beyond the obvious and trite statement of how commercialized the holiday has become, many blame their sentiments against Valentine’s Day on the weather. The holiday arrives in the middle of February when it’s too cold to appreciate anything, especially when the once romantic snow has turned from a pristine white to muddy brown. A holiday for lovers and romance should be in the spring when people feel a sense of warmth, it just doesn’t work in the middle of winter, said Sam Eschenbrenner, a sophomore political science major.

Rachel DiCola, a senior television radio and film major, has also never been a fan of Valentine’s Day and was annoyed early this year by its coming when different stores and organizations started to promote it immediately after Christmas ended.

‘I just think you should love people every day of the year, not just one day,’ DiCola said.

Throughout history in a multitude of cultures there has always been a designated day of love to celebrate during the calendar year. During the third century, ancient Romans honored the day with exchanges of names on slips of paper to determine their date for the amorous event. This was later adopted by the Catholic Church and revered using their own St. Valentine.

The official history of St. Valentine involves a priest named Valentine who defied the Roman Emperor Claudius II. After secretly marrying young lovers in a time when marriage was illegal, he was executed by the oppressive leaders of his day.

Today, many students find that Valentine’s Day has become more of a tribute to physical items rather than an event associated with saints, togas or coliseums.

‘Valentine’s Day is a good holiday; women get their jewelry and guys lose their money, and it’s all great,’ said Bob Kruger, a sophomore broadcast journalism major.

Zeta Phi Beta sorority has been making a large profit from their sale of red and pink packages full of candy and flavored condoms, called condomgrams, to Valentine’s shoppers. The sorority knew they could make a lot of money as well as encourage safe sex if they sold them in February as opposed to another time, said Juleen Johnson, vice president of Zeta Phi Beta and a junior nursing major.

Other organizations, like the Hershey’s Ice Cream store on Marshall Street, rely solely on the reputation of the holiday to sell its love-themed products. The store doesn’t even begin to make its heart-shaped ice cream until a couple days before Valentine’s Day, but still gets a lot of business from walk-in buyers and always does well around this time of year, said Vincent Fitzgerald, owner of the store.

Although the holiday does seem to focus around relationships, there are plenty of other activities that can be done on Feb. 14 unrelated to love. Last year, to celebrate being single on Valentine’s Day, Stephanie Bovaird, a sophomore interior design major, went to the mall and did everything, including shopping and dinner, by herself. It was a great time because Valentine’s Day is just a day the media and commercial world made up, and it can be fun no matter what, Bovaird said.

‘Valentine’s is great if you have someone to spend it with, and if you don’t, you look for your other single friends and spend it with them,’ said Melissa Sierra, a sophomore Spanish major. ‘It’s only depressing if everyone around you is in love and going out.’

While a great deal of people do enjoy seeing the excess of pink, white and red to help express love, many other students can’t help but feel the blues around this time of year.

‘If you have a significant other or a crush then it’s a good holiday, and if you don’t then it sucks to be you,’ Kruger said.

In the end, many students who experience a lack of companionship choose to accept their single status and embrace the day as any other.

‘I don’t want it to be like, if people want to celebrate Valentine’s Day, that they can’t because I’m single, or I’m going to be like ‘take down all your hearts and stuff because I’m a big bitch,” DiCola said. ‘If that’s when you want to express that you’re in love, then do it, but really it’s just another day for me.’

Published on February 10, 2005 at 12:00 pm