While many couples are planning romantic dinners and special dates for Valentine's Day, single people have some plans of their own to celebrate the holiday.

Nic Whitelock (junior-elementary education) and Kat Eutsler (junior-nutrition) are two single women who are handing out valentine cards to random students on campus.

"We are just going to go around and spread the love," Eutsler said. "Singles, couples, menage a trois, whatever your thing is."

Eutsler said the goal is to hand out 100 Valentine's Day cards.

"Basically it should not be a day that makes you feel like you should go find the love of your life just because it's Valentine's Day," Whitelock said. "My mom's a pretty good valentine, and she always represents."

Other single students think of Valentine's Day as an excuse to celebrate being single.

"My friends and I will be having our third annual celebration of our singleness on Valentine's Day," Prince Swaray (junior-marketing) said.

Swaray said the celebration will include a traditional "power hour" at a friend's apartment.

"There's going to be a big turnout this year because it seems like there's a lot more single people [that we know]," he said.

Swaray said the tradition started his freshman year and the original members who now have girlfriends will also be at this year's gathering.

"I think the holiday is just an excuse for people to waste money because I don't think you need one day to celebrate how much you love a person or care for a person," he added.

Carol Nelson (freshman-music education) put together a Valentine's Day celebration for her and her single girlfriends to get dressed up and go to dinner at The Tavern Restaurant, 220 E. College Ave., on Saturday night.

She also planned a surprise visit by The Dreamers, a Penn State a cappella group, to give her friends a singing valentine.

Nelson said her friends really enjoyed the surprise.

"It was great," she said. "A couple of them called their moms to tell them what happened."

Nelson said that in the past, she and her single girlfriends from home typically went out to dinner for Valentine's Day, and she wanted to keep the tradition alive.

"I think a lot of single people will think of it as a negative day because they get all sad about being single," she said. "I think it's good for people instead of sitting around, moping around, why not going out and doing something about it?"

But not all singles participate in celebrations for the holiday and would prefer to relax instead.

"I might go to the movies or I might just stay in and watch The OC," Jamie Fisher (junior-agricultural and biological engineering) said. "I'm trying to do things to forget about the holiday."

Fisher said that if any of her single girlfriends are around she will definitely get together with them.

"But if no one's around, it's just me and Ben & Jerry," she said.

Fisher said that although Valentine's Day can be depressing, it can be liberating as well.

"I guess it's kind of liberating to be like 'I'm single and I don't need this holiday,' " she said.

Fisher added that Valentine's Day, like New Year's Day, is another time to assess what's happening in your life.

"Valentine's Day is the day of analyzing 'I'm single, why am I single' ... and if you're happy with that, then it's good, but if you're lonely, it sucks," she said. "But for me, I don't really care."