This year, students on the Hill celebrated Valentine’s Day in a way that made everyone feel included—regardless of their relationship statuses.

Members of the women’s tennis team sold candy “val-o-grams” all week and delivered them Monday night to many dorm rooms across campus while the field hockey team sold carnations. On Tuesday morning, fake roses were strewn across the center of Pulver Pavilion, with instructions for passers-by to take one and give it to someone they appreciate.

Another unidentified group attached red cardboard hearts to stakes and planted them across Miller lawn, inspiring more than a few smiles as students trudged to their morning classes.

Surprises continued throughout the day, with heart-shaped brownie cakes in Bobs’ dining hall, personalized Valentine’s greetings sung by The Colby Eight and even mysterious weekend party invitations sent to friends through campus mail, garnished with festive lollipops.

We at the Echo felt as though the College community finally succeeded in getting Valentine’s Day to live up to its intention: to make other people feel valued and loved. It was difficult to be lonesome when surrounded by Hershey kisses, pink-and-white tablecloths in Foss and 1,800 of our peers whom we see every day.

The fact that certain groups went out of their way to involve the entire student body in this typically alienating Hallmark holiday indicates Colby’s significant growth as a community this year. Various incidents last fall left many students questioning the core values of this campus, yet Tuesday’s random acts of kindness restored hope that we can respect each other, we just need to show it better—and more often.

The Valentine’s Day gestures were not over-the-top or particularly time-consuming, and students who organized these displays asked for nothing in return. Why must it be a holiday in order for these acts to occur?

As college students, we are constantly stressed about balancing schoolwork, job-hunting, and our social lives. Yet, we should be able to set aside the five minutes it takes to order a Spa bagel to do something nice for a friend—or better yet a stranger—every day. Letting people know that they are respected and valued shouldn’t be limited to one day in February.

-The Staff of The Colby Echo