So you've just checked into Heartbreak Hotel, sworn you would never date again and what is everyone talking about? Love.

That dreaded holiday is here. But you can beat the blues, or reds, with some togetherness and friends, as well as some humor.

"I'm going to wait for a box of candy from my dad -- my Valentine -- in the mail and then share the candy with everyone that I'm with that day, and they can be my Valentines, too," said Suburnia Scott (sophomore-elementary education).

Valentine's Day is her favorite holiday, she said, noting that she decorated her shelves and her door. Undoubtedly, she will dress for the occassion.

But Valentine's Day has other students seeing red.

Kristin Cusanelli (freshman-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said she always seems to have a boyfriend before and after Valentines Day, but never during the holiday.

"I'm going to be wasted from Valentine's Day through my birthday, February 17, and the week following because that's when I always end up with a boyfriend anyway," she joked. On a more realistic note, Cusanelli said she and her friends will sit down today for a long heart-to-heart talk.

"I'm gonna get together with my three best friends and swap (boyfriend) horror stories," she laughed.

Men also tend to stick together on this holiday by sending heartfelt greetings to ex-girlfriends.

Mike Tovcimak and Jay Surman said they are going to play cupid with nerds and their old girlfriends.

"We're going to send roses to our old girlfriends signed by the biggest nerd on campus and count all the money that I saved this Valentine's Day," Tovcimak (sophomore-chemical engineering) said.

In reality, Valentine's Day is not different from any other day for the two friends, said Surman (sophomore-chemical engineering).

"We're going to do the same thing we would've done if we had girlfriends -- go out and get drunk together," Surman said.

Other students without lovers will use the day to pamper dorms full of potential partners.

The women of the Rising Sun House in McElwain Hall may meet the men of their dreams during a "tuck-in" with some Mifflin men.

Daring residents will be paired up with someone of the opposite sex. Each person will leave the other a secret Valentine in his or her mailbox.

"We're just going to give little notes and little surprises to pick their day up," said V. Christine Caretti, the resident assistant for the house.

After dinner, the two floors will attend a party to meet their secret admirers. Then the men will come to the women's hall -- escorted of course -- with milk and cookies to read the girls bedtime stories and tuck them in.

Some students are planning a less wholesome Valentine's Day celebration.

"I'm going to invite people over to play a game of Valentine's Day Twister, adult version," said Josette Lokay (sophomore-elementary education), smiling.

For others, friends are the best choice for entertainment, as well as academic enrichment.

Greg Geier and Page Langhorne plan to spend the day together.

Geier (sophomore-finance) said, "I'm going to take my best friend, Page, out to dinner."

The two friends plan to spend the evening studying for an exam together because, as Geier said, "Best friends do everything together. . . "

". . . when you don't have boyfriends or girlfriends," continued Langhorne (sophomore-division of undergraduate studies).