Veterans Club shows love to its members and APU students at their Valentine’s Day event.
On the night of Valentine’s Day, APU’s Veterans club hosted a Valentine’s event in the Upper Turner Campus Center (UTCC). The event included music, food, games, prizes and a chance to mingle with other students or hang out with friends.
UTCC was decked out with decorations and music to set the mood for V-Day: pink, red and white tablecloths, hearts from the ceiling, and your favorite love songs from Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking out Loud” to Usher’s “Burn.” Tacos, pizza, Valentine’s Day-themed desserts and board and card games were provided for students as well.
While there were some short, fun games to play with a partner on stage, the main activities were speed dating and blind matchmaking. For speed dating, students had three one-minute rounds with each stranger or friend to talk and get to know one another.
While no one was expected to keep on talking after the event, the speed dating served as a fun icebreaker for the night.
The blind matchmaking proved to be the success of the night. The first round had one male student, the king, asking three female contestants the questions. In the second round, a female student, the queen, asked questions to three male contestants.
Questions ranged from spicy to funny to deep, such as, “What’s your biggest red flag?”, “What do you look for in a partner?” and “What’s your favorite feature on a girl/guy?” Audience members were also allowed to ask questions to the contestants or to the king and queen. Everyone in the crowd and on stage were laughing, clapping and cheering throughout.
Photo courtesy of Luke Perez
Overall, after getting over the hump of awkwardness at the beginning, the event was a fun opportunity to meet other students, hang out with friends, and simply have plans for the holiday.
While this event was thrown as a fun social gathering, the meaning of events like this goes deep for the Veterans Club.
At the Veterans Club, the goal is to help veterans that attend APU transition back into everyday life. The events that are thrown by the club aren’t just for fun but serve as a way to help their members.
Brandon Armstrong, president of the Veterans Club, said “We try to put on events that bring community and inclusion at APU. We want to do events that are fun and get people involved.”
Through the events and the support the club gives its members, Armstrong hopes to continue to bring awareness of the military and veterans on campus to the student body, faculty and staff.
“We served our country but now we want to serve our APU community,” said Zeus Dela Cruz, vice president of the club.
Be sure to look out for other events from the Veterans Club. It’s always a fun, chill, and great way to meet new people or hang out with your friends. The club has an event planned in May to celebrate the graduating nursing majors.
If you see any members around campus, be sure to thank them for their service and welcome them into the APU community.