Battle of the Sexes – Female, Yes

By Jess Scanlon

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day to celebrate loved ones and love in general. However, the holiday has been hijacked by the greeting card industry. Every store is currently decorated in shades of red and pink for Valentine’s Day, selling everything from the traditional cards, candies and flowers to stuffed animals that say “Be Mine.” Every commercial break on television features at least one Valentine’s Day ad selling fine jewelry, flowers and anything else that could be given as a gift for the holiday.

The commercialism of the holiday is getting ridiculous. It is still Valentine’s Day if the cards and gifts are not bought. Whatever happened to “it’s the thought that counts?” Feb. 14 will still come if the advertising is ignored. Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday as we celebrate it here. The advertisements, hearts, valentines, etc. are all examples of this. It is just a way for the retail sector to make money off of people with disposable incomes.

College students are often on very tight budgets, so why should they waste their money? To celebrate is a good idea, especially because celebrating in the middle of the winter is always a good thing, in terms of boosting the morale both on and off campus, but why should it be expensive?

There are events on campus for those who want to celebrate in an inexpensive way. Another idea is to make the cards and gifts instead of buying them. Plus it’s a great way to make it a gift that is greener, more sentimental and more personalized, no matter how it turns out, and to make Valentine’s Day a little less commercial. After all, “all you need is love.”