The student body of John Brown University enjoyed a variety of Valentine events including a Galentine party at Mayfield on Monday Feb. 13, blind dates on Valentine’s Day and speed dating and dancing at J. Alvin on Wednesday, Feb 15.
On Monday, Feb. 13, the residents of Mayfield Hall gathered to celebrate Galentine’s Day, a day dedicated to celebrating the love and friendship among women. The event was organized by the Residence Life and Residence Hall Association (RHA). The evening consisted of music, a chocolate fountain, snacks and Hawaiian punch. The residents also had the opportunity take a polaroid at the Galentine photobooth, bingo and Valentine crafts, making it a fun and interactive evening for everyone.
As soon as the residents arrived at Mayfield Hall, they were greeted with homemade red and pink decorations. The chocolate fountain was the centerpiece of the event, surrounded by an array of sweet treats, including fruit, sweet rice treats and marshmallows that the residents could dip into the chocolate.
The RHA team spent several hours preparing for this event. One of the most popular parts of the evening was the photobooth, where the residents could take fun pictures with their friends. When asked about the event, freshman Samara Cuesta said, “It was such a fun night. I loved the chocolate fountain and the photobooth was hilarious. I can’t wait for the next event.”
The Galentine’s Day event at Mayfield Hall gathered over 100 residents to celebrate the all-girl Valentine’s Day. Freshman resident Deily Alpízar shared her thoughts on the event: “I had an incredible time at the Galentine’s Day event. I loved all the different activities we could do.”
In continuation with celebrating Valentine’s Day, over thirty students met in the atrium Tuesday evening to meet their blind dates. Organized by junior Alexis Brown, the event started off as each girl and guy received a card with the name of a university faculty or staff member. Each person found their date for the night when they found who had the same faculty member. The coordinator of the event had prepared a scavenger hunt for each pair to go and do. Competing against each other, they all left campus to complete as many of the items on the list as possible. Challenges included eating an ice cream cone in under a minute, grabbing the ice cream on top of the cone as the workers hands the cone, riding a bike in Walmart, jumping into Siloam Spring’s swepco lake fully clothed, proposing to a stranger, getting a tattoo of a heart and shooting ten people with a water gun. Several students who participated expressed how much they enjoyed the scavenger hunt and just meeting new people.
Later on, the J. Alvin Residence Hall hosted, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, a speed dating and swing dancing event in the atrium. From 7:30 to 8:15, students were having fun participating in speed dating. According to junior Mary Dunston, one of the attendees even wore a cow costume to speed date in. Every two minutes, each person met someone new. Dunston and junior Sam Patterson led swing dancing and enjoyed watching people learn together. She estimated that around 50 people participated in swing dancing. After some time of swing dancing, the group switched to line and salsa dancing. Dunston said about the night, “It seemed like something the students really enjoyed.” Dunston encourages anyone to join her and her friends on Tuesday nights to swing dance at 9 pm.