By Faith Jarrell
Student Life Editor
On Wednesday, Feb. 13, two on-campus organizations decided to celebrate Galentine’s or Palentine’s by hosting events in honor of platonic love.
Galentine’s Day, or Palentine’s Day, is a lesser-celebrated holiday, taking place on Feb. 13, as a play-on of Valentine’s Day, which is the following day. Galentine’s, or Palentine’s, is meant to be a day to celebrate platonic love before the romanticism of Valentine’s Day.
The first event, which was a Galentine’s flower market, was hosted by the Student Events Board in the Egg. At the event, students could create a bouquet of flowers at no cost. If desired, there were also little notes that could be put along with the flowers. While the event was supposed to occur from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., all the flowers were gone in less than 10 minutes due to the event’s large turnout.
“I always wanted to do a flower market. I didn’t want to do it on Valentine’s Day. I wanted to do it the day before, on Galentine’s Day just for everybody on campus, so it wasn’t just for couples, it could also be for people making bouquets for themselves. It was kind of a self-care thing. I think people love receiving flowers no matter who they are,” SEB Director of Series junior Caroline Drupka said.
One participant was freshman Jasmine Schaeffer, fulfilling Drupka’s self-care ideal.
“I made [a bouquet] for myself mostly to brighten up my room, but also because self love is just as important,” Schaeffer said. “It’s sweet that other students on campus are organizing stuff like this because some students might not have the time or money to get their friend or partner something for Valentine’s Day when they really want to.”
The flowers for the event came from Anthony’s Flowers, a florist on Church Hill Road in Chestertown.
“I really wanted to do it with a local florist, in the Chestertown area, [and] support local businesses,” Drupka said.
The second event was a “Valentine’s Gay” craft night, co-hosted by Encouraging Respect of Sexualities and Art and Art History Club. This event was held in the Egg from 6:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those who went could create an array of crafts from materials such as lace, paper, markers, gems, and boxes.
“EROS and Art and Art History Club wanted to collaborate on a fun Valentine’s craft night so people could make special Valentines for their loved ones,” EROS emailer and member of the Art and Art History Club executive board, junior Morgan Carlson said.
Freshman Cyn Covington came to the event to make a gift for their partner this Valentine’s Day.
“I did like the event. It was very fun and I liked having access to so many materials, like the paint markers. They’re expensive and I don’t normally have access to them, so that was nice,” Covington said.
Photo courtesy of Caroline Drupka
Photo Caption: Many students are pictured creating their own bouquets during the Student Event Board’s flower market on Tuesday, Feb. 13.