Lonely hearts have company on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day just isn't for everyone. Especially for those who eagerly open their mailboxes with hopes of it being jam-packed with red and pink envelopes covered with heart stickers only to find it empty except for that one lonely letter from grandma.\nFor some, Valentine's Day is a bitter reminder of an isolated love life. \nBut according to the online magazine www.MaximalHappiness.com, all those lonely hearts won't be alone come Valentine's Day, as an estimated 80 million Americans will be without a significant other this year.\nBut however discouraging Valentine's Day may be for IU singles, there's plenty to do to get through the night.\nFor the bar seekers, Kilroy's manager Eric Easton said he expects the single students to be out in full force on Saturday night.\n"We will get everyone that night -- singles, couples and groups," Easton said. "Girls or guys all come out together and have a good time on their own. It becomes a girls' and guys' night out and turns into a really fun night."\nBut for the single minors, the Union Board has something to offer as well on Saturday night, when they will be putting on the "Broken Hearts Dance" as a comfortable way for singles to mingle. \n"It's something for singles to do while couples go out on Valentine's Day night," said After Hours director David Dawson.\nStill, for others, Valentine's Day is a good reason to have a nice quiet evening without having to bother with the social scene. Students, like freshman Sarah Fyffe, plan on relaxing in front of the TV while other singles desperately search for a heartbroken hook-up.\n"I will probably just watch sad movies and eat chocolate" Fyffe said. \nNonetheless Fyffe said she still has a positive view on the holiday itself. \n"I think it's a cute holiday even though it is very commercial," she said. "But it would be a better holiday if I had a date."\nNot all singles can be as blissfully ignorant as Fyffe, but everyone can have a sense of humor about the holiday. The Internet has hundreds of sites devoted to not taking Valentine's Day seriously. Share the fun with a single friend and send a free Anti-Valentine's Day E-card from www.meish.org/vd/. After all, it's only Valentine's Day, and there is always next year.\n-- Contact staff writer Haley Beck at habeck@indiana.edu.