Around the third week of January, I had come across a sign at Green Hall for a “Speed Dating” event to be held by the university at the Rot on Valentine’s Day.

Surely this was a joke. Speed dating? What is this…Liberty's real-life edition of Christian Mingle?

But my idea that this was humorous satire was mistaken: as January began to progress into February, I saw even more signs promoting this event posted around campus. In fact, all around campus over the past few weeks, I have come across much Valentine’s advertisements for events with the purpose to promote dating: speed dating at the ROT, dessert date biddings, and even a four-course dinner for couples.

Being my first Valentine’s Day on campus, I was completely baffled when the overwhelming amount of propaganda began to arise a few weeks prior to the holiday.

More specifically the speed dating, or as I like to refer to it now as Liberty's “Christian Musical Chairs Tinder,” is fixed on quickly setting students up on dates. For a school that seems to be so morally concerned, this event seems to be quite contradictory.

Yes, I understand that it’s supposed to be fun and that Valentine’s Day is an unavoidable holiday that would be better replaced by a second Thanksgiving, but the degree that Liberty University has taken it to is certainly an issue.

I’m sorry, but this is NOT what college is about, and pushing students to date or search out a significant other should never be the case.

College is the last place that young individuals need to worry about a date or “romance,” but yet, the school is promoting and pressuring college students to find a date…why?

My disagreement with college relationships (or just with relationships in general) does not mean that all others need think the same, nor does that prevent students from dating and partaking in Valentine’s Day celebrations; it also does not mean that we should seek to legislate the mentality of those who desire to partake in such events. However, why is this something that a university, or even more specifically, a Christian university, is promoting? Shouldn’t we be promoting academic excellence among students? Shouldn’t we be promoting independence and growth as an individual, not the reliance upon a relationship and a significant other?

This is just further proof of Liberty’s “Ring by Spring” culture that is so toxic; stemming from an idea that, if you aren’t in a relationship or you’re not seeking out your future spouse, there’s obviously something wrong.

Perhaps, Liberty University, some students don’t want to be in a relationship, or even…GASP! Don’t even ever want to get married. Perhaps some students aren’t meant to be in a relationship or just have a hard time finding one, and the constant promotion of relationships, especially around this holiday, could likely be causing students to feel pressured into dating and thinking that it is something that they must do to fit in, even if they may not feel comfortable in doing so.

At any university, I would be shocked by the amount of emphasis that is placed on the holiday; however, I am even more shocked at how a Christian-based university can be so heavily focused on such a worldly, romance-focused holiday. Are we now assuming that romance is the only form of love that’s important? Why isn’t there this much promotion of loving your dear friends, families, and blessings: aren’t these things even more important?

Now, I am certainly not the one to be upholding people to a high moral standard, as I am definitely not perfect or anywhere close, nor do I ever claim to be. However, the school itself claims to have high moral standards and seeks to hold students to this standard, so why is this allowed to slip through the cracks?

Overall, I am just struggling to grasp the school’s intentions with its somewhat heavy focus on setting its students up on dates, particularly around this “holiday,” at any cost. No, it is not just because I am single. No, it is not because I’m “jealous,” which I am definitely not. Simply put: I, as perhaps many others (and definitely the parents paying for our tuition), just feel as though dating should not be a first priority during our college career (especially speed dating), nor should it be a priority of the university to encourage us to do so.