Fourth Estate/Tiffany Boggs

Some Mason Students have mixed feelings about Valentine’s Day

BY TIFFANY BOGGS, STAFF WRITER AND VIVIANA SMITH, MANAGING EDITOR

The concept of “Cupid’s arrows” are a hit or miss for some in the Mason community. With both traditional and modern points of view, various Mason students plan to listen to their hearts this Valentine’s day and show appreciation for others in their own ways. 

The special holiday falls every year on Feb. 14, where it’s known across the world as the day full of love, flowers, chocolate and gift exchanges between loved ones. However, there are some Mason students who have a different thought approach towards the holiday.

Sharing the love is universal, but for some students, traditional societal norms influence how they navigate the romance scene. 

Students like Junior Edmund Leigh agree with traditional expectations, explaining that men are expected to approach the person they are interested in. “I don’t think it’s wrong for a woman to ask a guy out… but I feel like initially, the guy should ask the woman out. Be a little more bold.”

Freshman Paul Laosiri expressed that today’s society has moved away from traditional standards surrounding asking someone out. “I think a few years ago it used to matter but now… general consensus [is] it can be both.”

Despite long-standing patriarchal standards, many students agreed that times have changed and gender doesn’t dictate who should do the asking. 

“I think the purpose is just the other person telling the other person how much they care about them,” one student said.

For students like Sophomore Sydney Carver, Valentine’s Day is a favored holiday, and she explains how much she has loved heart-shaped things since her childhood. The flowers, heart-shaped candies with romantic sayings like “Kiss me” and the chocolates are the core part of Valentine’s Day, but Mason students feel it’s overrun by commercialization. 

“I think it has been really commercialized, especially because you don’t really get off on Valentine’s Day,” Pirooz said. 

Though some believe companies capitalize on the holiday, the Mason community agrees that the memories you make with the people you care about are priceless. 

“Of course companies [are] gonna commercialize everything and every holiday, but I think it’s still meaningful,” one student said. “It’s just another day to show your appreciation [for] someone you care about.”

Sophomore Jenifer Zhandira feels the holiday is losing its value due to seeing younger kids not celebrating as much in school and the social pressures of hookup culture. “Now for our generation, it’s more like who’s going on dates and then, like, if you’re not in a relationship then it’s, oh, girls, we gotta find dates.” 

Although there are mixed feelings about the holiday, Valentine’s Day is widely believed to be a meaningful celebration of love.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, or what you think, you are loved and you should be loved no matter what anyone else tells you,” Junior Grace Millirons said.