Illustration by Sana Amin/The Gazelle

The Inter-Residential Hall Council and Student Interest Groups planned various events to celebrate Valentine’s Day leading up to today, Feb. 14.

The A5 Hall Council broadened the concept of Valentine’s Day to include the theme of Roommate Love as part of their General Assembly on Feb. 10.

Imtiyaz Hariyani, the A5-C building representative, felt that the theme was important for it not only focused on building healthy relationships between roommates, but also contributed to fostering strong relationships with others.

“Instead of simply giving details about how to move out of your room in search of a new roommate, we wanted to try and help the A5 community reflect on their respective journeys,” said Hiryani. “After all, it takes time to build meaningful relationships, and making that extra effort would teach you a skill that would be valuable in any future relationship,” explained Hariyani.

Hariyani also spoke about the response of the student body and encouraged more people to attend the organized events.

“The attendees extended their appreciation of the event and of the several giveaways we had, including Magnolia cupcakes and rose deliveries on Valentine’s Day,” said Hariyani. “I appreciate those who attended the General Assembly and encourage more [of] A5 community members to attend our events.”

On Feb. 13, Residential Assistant and senior Elizabeth Ogboe Couri organized an event for Galentine’s Day, which aimed to celebrate womanhood. She arranged a light brunch and screened two episodes from Parks and Recreation.

“Galentine’s day is an idea taken from Parks and Recreation. It is celebrated a day before Valentine’s Day where the girls get together and talk about their lives,” said freshman Ghaniba Ali, the A5-A building representative.

The A2 Hall Council screened Friends with Benefits in the Living Room on Feb. 13. The President of A2 Hall Council and freshman Oleksandr Petriv spoke about the choices regarding the event, and said that the decision of which movie to watch was left to the community.

“This time we chose five movies that have the theme of love at their core,” said Petriv. “However, this theme is depicted differently in each movie: some are romantic comedies and some are romantic dramas.”

Today, on Feb. 14, the Arab Cultural Club is screening The Kite, a Lebanese movie which talks about love across political borders. Apart from this, the Culinary Society is organizing a Valentine’s truffle workshop. President of the SIG and senior Eszter Mészáros spoke about the enthusiasm from the student body.

“As the head of Culinary Society, the event was my idea,” said Mészáros. “As it is our first workshop this semester… we want to make sure that our participants have a great time and are able to prepare their Valentine's treats in high quality.”