The International Student Association’s annual Valentine’s Day Ball was held on Saturday, February 12th at the Ballroom in the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing. This year’s theme was Venetian Nights: A Masquerade Ball. A lot of time and effort was put into the event by the ISA. Hear what ISA had to say about celebrating Valentine’s Day together.

Valentine’s Day is notoriously a divided holiday. Those who are in relationships tend to love it and those who are not, shockingly, tend to despise it and make loud statements to let the world know. Whether you find yourself alone or with your snuggle-puss this Valentine’s Day, here are a few songs to heighten the soundtrack to your evening.

Alone? Sad? Or not sad? Listen to these:

1. Flight of the Conchords — I’m Not Crying
Obviously you’re not torn apart by the love of your life, the apple of your eye, breaking your heart. Why would you be crying?
Listen!

2. Kelly Clarkson — Since U Been Gone
Don’t even deny it–everybody has listened to this song at least once in their life and, even if only for a split second, thought, “Heck yeah my life is the bees knees without you!” (Maybe you used different vocabulary, but you know the feeling just the same).

Listen!

3. The Beatles — Yesterday
Classic and always relatable. Love makes sense till the next day, then you sit there puzzled and wondering what went wrong. This being the most recorded song in history with over 2,500 covers (according to Rolling Stone), you’re not alone.

Listen!

4. A Fine Frenzy — Almost Lover
Okay, if you really are feeling down and just want to cry, listen to this. Singer Alison Sudol has one of those voices that makes you want to crawl up in a ball and sob because she’s saying every word you wish you had thought of yourself and singing it with every torn up feeling. Cry it out, it’s okay.

Listen!

5. Justine Timberlake — Cry Me A River
Maybe you’re alone on V-Day cause you hate that person and want them to suffer. Who knows? JT speaks it well. You don’t do that to JT, and no one does it to you! Cry ME a river!

Listen!

With someone? So happy you want the world to know it? Listen to these:

1. Coldplay — Yellow
This song has a spot on my personal list of perfect songs. The rhythm is just right, it’s not too loud or too soft, and Chris Martin is saying, “You’re so awesome! I love you! So I wrote a song about you! Wow, you!”

Listen!

2. The Beatles — Something
Yes, it’s The Beatles again, but if anyone knows me, I have a problem and won’t ever stop listening to them. “Something” is the second most recorded Beatles song in history, and undeniably so. Excellent, to say the least.

Listen!

3. Vampire Weekend — Run
“It struck me that the two of us should run.” Run away to be in love? Maybe so, but to get away from the loudness and confusion of everyday life. Nice song to listen to regardless of your situation, but nicer when you have someone to run away with.

Listen!

4. Regina Spektor — Us
This one’s a no brainer. Whether you’ve been listening to it since it came out on Soviet Kitsch in 2004, or since 500 Days of Summer came out, it’s lovely either way. Regina belts it on all her songs, and this is one of the few on being in love and purely enjoying it.

Listen!

5. Marvin Gaye — Let’s Get It On
Do I really need to explain this one?

Listen!

It’s that time of year again. Love is in the air…or is it? Find out what other MSU students have planned for Valentine’s Day and hear about past Valentine’s Day stories!

Plenty of single women are taking the opportunity to have a girls’ night with good friends instead of chasing the traditional Valentine’s Day dream of dinner, chocolates and budding romance. Whether it’s an expression of independence or a stand against those dates that have gone wrong in the past, it’s happening, and it might just be a refreshing way to spend your February 14.

“I’ve had a girls’ night [on Valentine’s Day] many times,” said social work master’s student Cherie Michaud. The more I think about it, it’s a kind of Valentine celebration with the people you care about who are friends instead of a significant other.”

Others have taken to this trend, as well, celebrating with people who they love, not necessarily a significant other.

“I’ve done it with my girlfriends so that no one has to spend Valentine’s Day alone. I look at it as spending time with the people that you love regardless if it’s a friend of significant other,” said creative advertising senior Nina Altadonna.

But it’s not just the ladies of MSU that are banning together to celebrate.

“It’s not only the girls; it’s just anyone who doesn’t have plans,” Michaud said.  Friends, regardless of gender, are finding a fun way to spend the day.

“We usually just invite whoever is available,” Altadonna said.

And the men agree.

“I probably won’t hang out with a girl; I’ll hang out with my guy friends,” said economics junior Trevor Stiles.  “If it is a guys’ night, it would be because we’re all single, and Valentine’s Day is a reminder that we’re single; it’s good, and it’s bad. There are two ways of looking at it.”

You might just call the emerging tradition a “friends’ night,” not deliberately planned, but powerful nonetheless.

Beth Woodworth, an advertising senior, has a Valentine this year, but if not she would be spending the holiday with close friends.

“I wouldn’t be looking for a date. I’d probably just go to the movies with my friends and include some drinks,” Woodworth said.

Publications and event listings are even catering to this new trend. New York Magazine has a special feature for singles, which reads, “Trust us: Being an uncoupled city girl on the most romantic day of the year means there’s fun to be had.”

The article includes reviews and suggestions for places to go out with your friends.

“If Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend, I’d be going out to the bar, but since it’s Sunday we will stay at home and drink some wine instead,” Altadonna said.

With friends to fall back on, the urgency of locking down a date has almost disappeared from campus.

“I am absolutely not looking for a date. If it happens, it happens, but I am not worried about it,” Stiles said.

This sentiment is echoed from many students.

“No, I am definitely not looking for a date.” Michaud said. “I feel like it is a day to spend with someone special, not someone you grabbed off the street and said, ‘Hey, take me to dinner!’ I think it should have a little more meaning than that.”

“I’m not looking. I don’t care to have a date. I would want to be out on a date with a boyfriend, but I don’t want to be cliché and date just because it’s a holiday,” Altadonna said.

If no one is actively looking for romantic dates, are we in the midst of a Valentine’s Day transformation? You have to wonder if friendship will replace the traditional date in coming years.

“[Girls’ night is] definitely taking over, at least in college, because I think it’s so rare to go on sporadic dates with people who aren’t in relationships. Even my friends who have dates will go out to dinner, but meet up with us afterwards,” Altadonna said.

Woodworth agreed and noted the increased amount of anti-Valentine’s Day sentiment.

“Now there are Facebook groups being made against Valentine’s Day and events inviting people to go out to the bar instead.”

There are also those romantics who believe that faith is not lost in the traditional date.

“The date is still very idealistic, and the girls want to have a date for V-day because it is just the way we’re programmed. Anyone’s first choice would be to go on a date,” Michaud said.

The traditional dinner, chocolates, flowers and heartfelt card can be interpreted as an intimate expression of love or a sad attempt to capitalize on the holiday, depending on who you ask.

According to History.com, the truth is that the tradition of Valentine greetings date back to the Middle Ages with written Valentine cards coming on to the scene around the 1400s. The first commercial cards produced in the U.S. were made in the 1840s.

The Greeting Card Association, has estimated one billion Valentine cards are sent and received each year, an amount second only to Christmas cards.

“I think it’s been so blown out of proportion it goes past what the day should really be about,” Michaud said. “Things like love and caring for someone. I know that flowers, candy and dinner are kind and meaningful gestures, but now it has become expected. You’re not even surprised anymore.”

“I think a lot of [the holiday] is Hallmark, because they try to juice as much out of it as they can. With jewelry, cards and candy, corporations and businesses are taking advantage of it,” Altadonna said.

Considering all of the hype and money spent on this holiday, it can sometimes be hard to remember what the day is all about.

“I think it’s a little overrated but cool because you can take a day out of the year and spend it with who you love,” Stiles said.

The true meaning of Valentine’s Day is not lost at MSU. Instead, it is being celebrated in different ways. Those who do not have a romantic partner to go out with will join their friends for the night. The idea is that no one will be left alone because true love is still being celebrated, regardless of the form it takes.

If you’re still feeling pessimistic about V-day this year, just remember that there are worse holidays to look forward to.

“It’s way better than Sweetest Day,” Stiles said.