Ben Lippert

Emily and Luke

Emily Ramerth, junior communication studies major, and her boyfriend Luke Rensink, a sophomore dairy manufacturing major, have been together for almost three months.

Ramerth is originally from Minnesota, and she said they are planning on going back for Valentine’s Day.

“My best friend and her boyfriend and all of us are going to get together, and (the boys) are going to cook us dinner,” Ramerth said.

Although Ramerth and Rensink have made plans for the holiday, they don’t think Valentine’s Day is all roses.

“I personally don’t like the holiday,” Ramerth said. “I’m a romantic but at the same time I don’t like the holiday.”

She continued to express her disregard for Valentine’s Day.

“I think the holiday is just a crappy excuse for boyfriends to remember their girlfriend one day of the year instead of every day,” Ramerth said. “That probably sounds horrible.”

Rensink said he is glad he has a girlfriend but also said he never minded being single. Ramerth backed him up saying she enjoyed being single on Valentine’s Day just as much, or more.

“The single people on Valentine’s Day either sit around and mope because they don’t have anybody to spend it with, or they go out with a bunch of single friends and have a blast,” Ramerth said.

Alyssa and Trevor

Assorted chocolates and flowers are not the only way to a girl’s heart. For Alyssa Stolt, freshman undeclared major, all it takes is Boss’s Pizza and a movie.

Stolt and her boyfriend, Trevor Heinz, freshman undeclared major, have been together for almost three years, making this Valentine’s Day another milestone in their relationship. Stolt wants to keep this Valentine’s Day simple by just going out for pizza and a movie.

Both Heinz and Stolt agreed that their Valentine’s Day expectations go down the longer they are together.

“She expects me to pay for it. I expect her to pick what we’re doing,” Heinz said.

Stolt agreed and added that she expects him to drive and that they dress up.

Stolt and Heinz had varying and similar opinions on Valentine’s Day.

“I don’t really like it,” Heinz said. “I don’t know why we have it.”

Stolt agreed, but also said that she thinks the holiday serves a purpose, and not everything about it is pointless.

“I think it’s good to have a day set apart to focus on your significant other, especially since now we’re so busy all the time,” Stolt said.

Stolt knows that not everyone has a Valentine’s Day companion, and she feels bad for the people who want to find that person, but have not. She said most of her single friends don’t care about Valentine’s Day, and to them it is just another day.

Stolt is very appreciative to have a boyfriend to spend Valentine’s Day with, but she admits they don’t always strive for uniqueness.

“We’re kind of boring when it comes to Valentine’s Day,” Stolt said. “We do cliché things like dinner and a movie and cuddling.”

Catey and John

Not all couples get to be together on Valentine’s Day. Conflicting schedules will keep Catey Watkins, senior advertising major, and her boyfriend John Van Beek, senior agricultural engineering major, apart this Valentine’s Day.

Watkins will be in Omaha to celebrate her roommate’s birthday. Along with celebrating, both will be consoling each other, as both will be suffering with scheduling conflicts with their boyfriends.

“My roommate’s boyfriend is going to be out of town for her birthday, on Valentine’s Day weekend,” Watkins said.

Although Watkins and Van Beek will not see each other on Valentine’s Day, they still have plans to celebrate.

“When I get back from Omaha I want to go to (the movie) Wolfman,” Watkins said.

This is not the first Valentine’s Day the couple has spent apart. Last Valentine’s Day, Watkins performed in the SDSU production “The Vagina Monologues,” which was a fundraiser for the domestic abuse shelter in Brookings.

Neither Watkins nor Van Beek was very upset about the idea of their partner’s absence on Valentine’s Day.

“I hate Valentine’s Day. I think it’s a useless holiday,” Watkins said. “I think it’s designed to make people who are in a relationship feel like they have to spend a crap-ton of money, and for people who aren’t (in a relationship) to feel bad about their lives.”