For Valentine’s Day, Student Outreach Advocacy Representatives set up a table with a Wall of Love. The Wall of Love allowed students to write what love means to them and hang it on a poster for everyone to see. They also handed out miniature chocolate cupcakes and pretzels covered in white chocolate.
Annie Goodman / The Lion's Roar

For Valentine’s Day, multiple groups were set up inside and outside of the Student Union allowing students to partake in festivities.

The Campus Activities Board had a booth where students could create flipbooks as well as one where they could get cupcakes and make cards. They also collaborated with the University Counseling Center and the University Health Center.

“We had a Valentine’s Day event,” said CAB member McKenzie Tolson, a junior marketing major. “It started out with the flipbook booth. Then we decided to have cupcakes and Valentine cards for everybody. Then we wanted to add to it, so we partnered with the Health Center. They’re talking about safe sex and handing out condoms. We partnered with the Counseling Center, talking about healthy relationships, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.”

The University Health Center had a table set up discussing condoms and sexually transmitted diseases.

“We’re promoting safe sex for Valentine’s Day,” said Marlise Eschete, a health and kinesiology graduate student and a graduate assistant at the University Health Center. “We’re teaching proper condom usage and we’re also informing students that we do STD testing at the Health Center. This is important because our statistics show the STD rate at Southeastern is increasing every year. So, we want to educate students to let them know that there are ways to prevent STD’s from happening and to prevent early pregnancy.”

The University Counseling Center hung up hearts with people’s definition of a healthy relationship on them.

“We’re doing a little outreach program to try to educate people on healthy relationships and raise awareness for domestic violence,” said Emily Toloudis, a graduate student in the counseling program. “Basically, what we’re doing is we’re having people write little messages about what is healthy in relationships or inspirational things for people that may be going through a bad relationship. I think it’s important because whenever you’re in college, is when you start getting into those serious relationships. A lot of times we don’t know what healthy relationships look like, so it can be easy to get into an unhealthy situation that’s hard to get out of.”

The Southeastern Sociological Association had a table inside the Student Union.

“We have the I Love You Challenge table,” said Katie Simmons, a senior psychology major. “We are challenging people to text or call someone they love and tell them they love them because you never know when it’ll be your last chance to tell them. Then we’re also doing Valentine’s Day cards. Everyone can make their own Valentine’s Day card. Then we have the little photo drop background for people to take pictures.”

Student Outreach and Advocacy Representatives set up a wall of love for people to express their opinions on love.

“Wall of Love is basically where people can come and express what does love means to them in their own way,” said Tynesha Hall, a freshman biology major. “Nobody’s judging them. Just being free. You get to express how you feel. I feel like some people aren’t able to express themselves. They can’t say what they really feel like without somebody judging them. Then, they can come here and express they self without anybody judging them. I feel like everybody needs that in life.”

 

Campus Activities Board set up a photobooth that made flipbooks for students. They also had a table handing out cupcakes and allowing students to make Valentine’s Day cards. 
Annie Goodman / The Lion's Roar