The Spire

Matt Nickerson ‘24

Chief Features Editor

On Monday, February 12th, shortly after 4pm, Holy Cross informed students that campus would be closed on Tuesday, February 13th. The closure suspended classes on that day and prevented several activities from happening as scheduled. Nevertheless, in spite of these interruptions, the Holy Cross community has been able to host several events in anticipation of Valentine’s Day.

On Wednesday, February 6th, Professor Susan Elizabeth Sweeney of the English Department hosted a Literary Social and Valentine Workshop in the Levis Browsing Room of the Dinand Library, from 4 to 5pm. An enthusiastic group of 16 students participated in the Literary Social and Valentine Workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 6. 4-5 pm in the Levis Room at Dinand Library. The event was held a week before the holiday so that students would have ample time to deliver the tokens of friendship and affection that they crafted by hand.

The event began with a brief talk by Professor Sweeney, who explained that the American valentine tradition has deep connections with Massachusetts and especially Worcester. Massachusetts is responsible for sailors’ valentines (small boxes decorated with shells) and for “conversation hearts,” manufactured by the New England Confectionery Company. The first fancy valentines in America were produced by 20-year-old Esther Howland in Worcester in 1848, starting an immediately successful business that dominated the greeting card business for over a century and contributed to the city’s success in manufacturing paper goods and the invention of envelopes. Professor Sweeney even speculated that Worcester’s city seal–a heart surrounded by a wreath, which was established by an ordinance in March 1849 — may have been inspired by Howland’s instantly successful business a year earlier.

The event offered refreshments, sample volumes of valentine lore to read, and the opportunity to make a valentine with use of stickers, cards, envelopes, decorative papers, and rubber stamps. Participants enjoyed crafting valentines so much that the event was extended thirty minutes beyond its original end, and the co-organizers, Professor Susan Elizabeth Sweeney and Reference Librarian Abigail Roselieb, agreed that next time at least two hours should be set aside for the workshop so that students could make valentines to their hearts’ content. Participants were also afforded the opportunity to read love poems from famous Massachusetts poets, such as Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, and Elizabeth Bishop, the latter hailing from our shared city of Worcester; Professor Sweeney said all of their work “was shaped by their love of valentines.” One fun fact she shared was that Edgar Allan Poe, who later invented the detective story, especially liked puzzles and cryptograms and boasted that he could decode any secret message by anyone. His valentines usually hid the name of the recipient within the poem, including one famous acrostic poem which spelled out a name diagonally (instead of just down the left margin). 

Additionally, Professor Jorge Santos hosted a separate event in the Levis Room in Dinand: an “Anti-Valentine” Open Mic Night, on the 14th starting at 3:30pm. Sweets were again offered, in exchange for the reading of published and original works of music, short stories, and poetry. The event, described as “an event to celebrate heartbreak and lost love”, is a collaboration between the Holy Cross Libraries and the Montserrat: Contemporary Challenges Cluster. The cluster for this academic year is described as questioning what being “for and with others” actually entails, and “how [t]hrough explorations of history, art, emotion, and science we seek both positive models of cura personalis as well as interventions into the contemporary challenges to this mission” (Holy Cross). In tandem with poetry’s strong focus on capturing images of romance and love, the event seems like a fitting way to commemorate the holiday.  

Another annual tradition that occurred this week was the Singing Valentines provided by the Delilahs, one of Holy Cross’ a capella groups. Students could previously purchase one song for $3, or two songs for $5, on February 6th and 7th, from 9am-4pm in Hogan, or by emailing DELILAHS@g.holycross.edu. In doing so, they chose a friend to be sung to, a song from a selection list, and a specific date, location, and time. On February 12th and 14th, students were sung to by the Delilahs throughout the day in both Hogan and Kimball. Originally, the 13th was planned as an additional day, but the weather cancellations meant that Hogan was closed for the day.  Although some of the recipients were certainly embarrassed, it was another successful week of a time-honored tradition.

The Roses and Candy Gram Sale was also impacted by the campus closure. Along with a Barbie-themed candygram sale by Peace of Mind, HerCampus was scheduled to sell grams, roses, and chocolates in Hogan on February 13th, from 10am to 3pm, in order to “show some love” for friends and campus crushes. The event was held in honor not only of Valentine’s Day but also “Galentine’s Day,” February 13th, commemorating women’s friendship– in line with the mission of HerCampus, an online magazine “dedicated to empowering college women around the globe” (HerCampus). When the campus closure affected in-person sales, however, the club resourcefully constructed candy-grams from their homes, accepting requests by Instagram DMs. Even with the changes to the procedures, the event sold out, and was available for pickup on Wednesday the 14th– just in time for Valentine’s Day.

“HerCampus had planned this week to sell candygrams to students in lieu of Valentines Day. When the campus was closed, we ended up having to cancel our second selling table, and took sales online instead to our Instagram,” says Charlotte Keane ‘24, the co-president of the club.  “While a different approach, we still managed to sell out!! The campus closure also led us to cancel our club meeting which was dedicated to constructing the candy grams that we sold both Monday and Tuesday. Instead, our amazing events coordinator Nora Flaherty and her roommates constructed them, and we still got them all done on time for distribution.”            

Lastly, the Student Government Association held a Sexual Respect week, stretching from February 12th to the 16th. “It is important to recognize and acknowledge that campus community members all have different lived experiences, particularly related to sexual respect,” the email to the campus read (2-12-24). The week’s events, intended to raise awareness on sexual respect, included a love letters to survivors RPE table from 9-12 on Valentine’s in Hogan, “to share what love looks like to you and write love letters to survivors of sexual and relationship violence” (2-12-24). Additionally, a Love Social took place from 3-5 at Cool Beans on the 15th, featuring performances by the Delilahs and the opportunity for Crusaders to share creative works on love. A Sexual Respect Pub Night was scheduled to be held at the Pub at 9pm on the 13th, reflecting on the importance of consent and including cookie decorating, but that event was impacted by the campus closures as well, and will likely be rescheduled. 

It is very fortunate that despite the surprise midweek snow day, that Crusaders were able to get together and still celebrate Valentine’s Day. They were able to celebrate in various ways with their friends and classmates, all while getting to take a break from classes and take a sled ride down one of our many steep hills on Mount St. James. 

Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman