From Monday, Feb. 10 to Friday, Feb. 14, various departments and organizations at Grand Valley State University hosted Valentine’s Day-themed events for students to get creative. Throughout the week, a diverse array of activities were held, such as a Paint & Sip event, an exercise dance class and a strawberry dipping workshop.
To start off the week of love, GVSU’s Alcohol & Other Drugs Services (AOD), Campus Activities Board and the Center for Health & Wellbeing collaborated on a Valentine’s Day Paint & Sip event on on Feb. 10. At the gathering, students were able to follow along with a Valentine-themed painting tutorial or pursue original ideas. Snacks and mocktails were available to students in attendance. Additionally, AOD’s peer educator team was readily available to speak with students and point them toward any resources they might not have been aware of.
“Students were free to come at any time during the event, (which) allowed people to paint and leave when they were ready,” said Onyx McCormick, a GVSU student worker at AOD. “Since the event was open to anyone, the outcome was great.”
Most students were inspired by the Valentine’s Day theme, even if they did not follow the tutorial provided. Lauren King, a graduate assistant at AOD largely organized the Paint & Sip event, and said one of the activity’s goals was to help students with the potential stress of the romantic holiday.
“A handful of students used the tutorial we provided to paint disco cherries,” King said. “There was also a variety of flowers and candy heart paintings. It was open for students to do whatever, and provided a stress-free space.”
The University’s Recreation & Wellness department also hosted Valentine’s-themed events that focused on health and exercise. On Feb. 10, they hosted Cupid’s Groove and Glove, a Zumba and yoga fusion session. The class had a starting focus on dance and ended with a focus on breathing techniques to promote relaxation. Later in the week, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, Recreation & Wellness held a Love Your Core: Pilates Class on the Pew Campus.
That same evening, NIARA, a program within the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity, hosted a Galentine’s Strawberry Dipping Workshop. The activity was part of a series of events centered around making connections within the GVSU community. NIARA is a student-led program committed to creating a community at GVSU for women of color by providing platforms for expression.
Overall, the week’s events invited students to use art to relieve stress and participate in new experiences with friends. The activities’ free and open form ensured the events’ environments were conducive to creativity while encouraging socialization, an aspect that many students seemed to appreciate.
The Valentine’s Day-themed events coincided with the University’s Sex Ed Week, during which the GVSU Center for Health & Well-being worked with campus organizations to educate students about sexual health.
“Since the event (Valentine’s Day) happens during Sex Ed Week, we wanted to work together to highlight the relationship between substance use, sexual wellness and student life,” King said.
All of the aforementioned events helped provide free resources and education, and facilitated a way for students to safely engage in the romantic theme of Valentine’s Day.
