Let me first say that The Quad is not and will not ever try to give relationship advice. I mean, we know nothing more than you do, trust me.

The topic of this article is to give you some ideas to make your February 14th great. The fact is, this “holiday” is very stressful for those in a relationship, single, and “it’s complicated.” I am here to share with you some tips on how to celebrate the day. Special thanks to About.com for, well, all of the following.

If You’re Single

Being single on Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to mean being awkward or having a funky night. There are multiple ways to ensure you still have a great Valentine’s Day — without a significant other.

• 5 Things to Do Off Campus If You’re Single on Valentine’s Day
• 5 Things to Do On Campus If You’re Single on Valentine’s Day

If You Have a Crush on Someone

Have a crush on someone? Not sure what to do about it? Valentine’s Day can be the perfect catalyst for moving toward something more.

• 5 Ways to Tell If That College Crush Likes You Back
• 5 Ways to Let Your College Crush Know You Like Them

If You Have a Date

Have a date for Valentine’s? Thought that was the difficult part … until you tried to plan something? Check out these easy (and affordable) date ideas to help make sure your night is all you want it to be.

• 5 Inexpensive College Date Ideas
• 10 Tips for Dating Safely in College

If You’re in a Long-Distance Relationship

Being in a long-distance relationship can be hard enough without things like Valentine’s Day reminding you of the distance between you and your significant other. Learn more about how to make the distance a little easier.

• How to Handle Long-Distance Relationships in College
• 5 Romantic Gestures for a College Long-Distance Relationship

Follow the links, learn something, and have a great day!

Yesterday, January 23rd, was National Pie Day. Due to the greatness of this holiday, we have decided to extend the celebration through the weekend. So, go ahead, have a piece on us.

Oh, and for your pleasure, here is a picture of a pie in the face of my cousin. We made a bet about the Illinois – Vanderbelt basketball game. Never bet against the Illini.

Happy pie day!

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a US holiday that commemorates the life and work of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. It is celebrated on the third Monday in January; a date that nears his birthday on January 15th. King spent his life fighting for equal rights of all Americans. His most recognized performance is known as the “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. The speech is often considered to be one of the greatest and most notable speeches in history.

I’d like to share with you an excerpt of the speech:

And this will be the day — this will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Tomorrow, on the same piece of ground where King gave his revered performance, and overlooking a statue of Abraham Lincoln, the man who signed the Emancipation Proclamation, we will appoint our nation’s first African-American president.

It’s President’s Day!! No School!!! Oh wait.

There are a few times during the year that I wish I were still in high school. Today is one of those days.

Well, even without a day of rest, we should attempt to honor this holiday. What exactly is president’s day, you ask. Since I had to go to school today, I didn’t have time to write about it; but here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Presidents Day (or Presidents’ Day), is the common name for the federal holiday officially designated as Washington’s Birthday, and both variants are among the official names of a number of coinciding state holidays. It is celebrated on the third Monday of February.

As the official title of the federal holiday, Washington’s Birthday was originally implemented by the federal government of the United States in 1880 in the District of Columbia (20 Stat. 277) and expanded in 1885 to include all federal offices (23 Stat. 516). As the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen, the holiday was celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday, February 22. January 1, 1971 the federal holiday was shifted to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. A draft of the Uniform Holidays Bill of 1968 would have renamed the holiday to Presidents’ Day to honor both Washington and Lincoln, but when signed into law on June 28, 1968 simply moved Washington’s Birthday.

In the late 1980s, with a push from advertisers, the term Presidents Day began its public appearance. The theme has expanded the focus of the holiday to honor another President born in February, Abraham Lincoln, and often other Presidents of the United States. Although Lincoln’s birthday, February 12, was never a federal holiday, approximately a dozen state governments have officially renamed their Washington’s Birthday observances as “Presidents Day”, “Washington and Lincoln Day”, or other such designations. It is also interesting to note that “Presidents Day” is not always an all-inclusive term. In Massachusetts, while the state officially celebrates “Washington’s Birthday,” state law also prescribes that the governor issue an annual Presidents Day proclamation honoring the presidents that have come from Massachusetts: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Calvin Coolidge, and John F. Kennedy. (Coolidge, the only one born outside of Massachusetts, spent his entire political career before the vice presidency there. George H.W. Bush, on the other hand, was born in Masachusetts, but has spent most of his life elsewhere.) Alabama uniquely observes the day as “Washington and Jefferson Day,” even though Jefferson’s birthday was in April. In Connecticut, while Presidents Day is a federal holiday, Abraham Lincoln’s birthday is still a state holiday, falling on February 12 regardless of the day of the week.

In Washington’s home state of Virginia the holiday is legally known as “George Washington Day.”