Priyanka Gera — Culture Editor

Valentine’s Day is a money-making strategy for businesses, like flower shops and restaurants, that we should not indulge. People spend an absurd amount of money on flowers, chocolates, restaurant dates and other extravagant gifts for their partners to express their love, all of which are unnecessary and very materialistic. Mass media only adds to this headache by profiting from manipulative advertisements. Why should there be a designated day in our lives to express our feelings for someone? 

Let your partner feel your love  often, not just one day a year as a formality. Pick any day of the week and make it a date night. Indulge every day because life is short and waiting for the “right moment” — which does not exist — is a waste. Valentine’s Day singles out single people and puts more pressure on someone who might be proposing. It creates — emotional and financial — that exploits human sentimentality.

Destinee Tyler Scott — Opinion Editor

Yes, Valentine’s Day may come off as a day full of high expectations and over-the-top romantic gestures, but it is still a day that celebrates love. Whether that be a small or big love, a dramatic or easy love — or even self-love, the day is like a toast to your love journey. 

Even though my love journey has never been easy or straightforward, I’ve always been that girl who wears pink and red from head-to-toe on Valentine’s Day. Between the chocolate truffle heart boxes to romantic candlelight dinners, there’s nothing about the day that I don’t love. Valentine’s Day is meant to be a reminder that you are loved and you are cared about. It is true that everyone should take the time to recognize the love in their life every day, but Valentine’s Day is a day to honor your overall journey and where you are now.