爱是你所需要的一切
Love was in the air as students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Wyckoff Center for Lovefest, a colorful celebration that included reiki, a sound bath, chair massages, emotional support animals, arts and crafts, delicious treats, and so much more, courtesy 机构多样性和战略规划办公室主任.
The 2024 event marked the second year of the tradition, conceived of by Vice President 战略规划和机构多样性. Woodfork. 许多的 校园办公室为该项目提供了支持.
Coinciding with Valentine’s Day, Lovefest aims to offer the community a space where 每个人都受到爱戴和欢迎. 它尊重多样性、公平、包容的原则， 以及威科夫中心所致力于的正义. 这个项目也反映了火博体育的想法 commitment to the health and well-being of the community, a strategic priority of 学院.
2月的. 14 celebration was guided by the work of professor, author, cultural critic, and feminist theorist 贝尔钩 and her book “All About Love: New Visions.“与会者 were encouraged to consider hooks’ wisdom as they gathered, laughed, and reinvested 活动期间的自我照顾.
To truly love we must learn to mix various ingredients — care, affection, recognition, respect, commitment, and trust, as well as honest and open communication.贝尔钩
庆祝各种形式的爱
Members of the 火博体育 community reflect on love’s components while recounting their 在Lovefest的经历.
护理
"When people ask me if I am excited for Valentine's Day, I usually respond with anything 在轻微的不感兴趣到强烈的厌恶之间. 特别是在过去的几年里，节日 has just felt like a day for extreme consumerism and showing off your newest relationship. And while that is great for the lucky few, it gets very frustrating to be inundated 粉红色和红色，巧克力和鲜花.
"Lovefest seemed like the perfect way to reroute my frustrations toward positivity. 它确实做到了! 我做手工，聊天，吃零食，和我的朋友和狗一起玩.
"While I would not consider myself a believer in practices like energy or sound healing, I was interested in the various homeopathic therapy stations set up in the Wyckoff 然后坐下来学习和体验能量治疗.
"To be honest, I don’t know if it worked, but it was nice to lie down for a minute 让别人证实我有压力. 甚至听到别人说“你” seem anxious and overwhelmed” slowed me down enough to realize I need to commit more 是时候照顾自己了. Overall, I found Lovefest to be very enjoyable; the Wyckoff Center was colorfully decorated, the mood was high, and the participants were friendly. 作为一个情人节愤世嫉俗者，我会说我很惊喜!
——弗朗西·沃顿25年
感情
Therapy dogs at Lovefest showed their love for the 火博体育 community.
"The gaggle of therapy dogs at Lovefest made us all laugh with their antics but also 强调心理健康在学术环境中的重要性. 我感受到了我的烦恼 melt away as I played with a yellow lab named Melinda, and I got to watch my fellow 学生们也体验到同样由狗引起的快乐. 这些狗发挥了重要作用 减轻了我和在场所有人的压力.
"The station also helped me to connect with classmates I had never met before, even 如果只是拿我们衣服上的狗毛开玩笑的话. 总的来说，这个疗法 dogs at Lovefest provided a fun way to connect and to give and receive affection in 低压力环境."
——克拉拉·摩根，26岁
识别
"Valentine’s Day has always been an exciting day for me because it has always belonged 给我的父母. Each year on this day, I would wake up to my dad blasting reggae love songs in the kitchen and 'frosting' a heart-shaped slice of bread with peanut butter 给我妈妈点了根蜡烛，然后送给她.
"So when I walked into the Wyckoff Center for Lovefest and the first thing that greeted me were the heart-shaped cookies, I could feel the memories of this beautiful day 在我的眼睛里充盈. 我一直都是通过代理人来庆祝情人节的——先过完 my parents, and this year through Lovefest, which was an open invitation to celebrate the day in a way that honors various forms of accessing and acknowledging our own 爱与他人的变革和鼓舞人心的爱.
"For me, it brought me back 给我的父母’ kitchen, where love was being exalted in 通过音乐和糖霜糖果的愚蠢而欢乐的方式. 虽然我参加了 a little bit of everything, the chair massage was my favorite experience because not only was it relaxing, but it also felt like a moment to receive tangible, embodied 关心，就像我爸认出我妈那样. 这段经历非常接地气; 对我来说，这真的是饼干上的糖霜!"
——ansu Mukombiwa (24
尊重
"One of the most important themes of Lovefest is not only the love you give to others, 而是你给自己的爱. 这是我在画草图时一直记在心里的 过程. And as someone who was raised, taught, loved, and inspired by strong Black women, I wanted to capture their everlasting presence, especially within the Wykoff 中心和它代表什么."
——大卫·萨利纳斯25年
承诺与信任
马克·康纳总统对火博体育的传统表示支持.
"Lovefest is a new tradition at 火博体育, but it’s already one of my favorites. Of course, we include the more traditional elements of the day, like giving valentines and flowers, but we’re also invested in the philosophical aspect, and it has a health 还有健康成分.
"This year’s event was informed by philosophers of love, like 贝尔钩. 在标明, 与会者可以思考我们如何看待我们社区中的爱. 所以它是轻松愉快的 Valentine's Day feeling to it, but that is accompanied by a recognition of the very core of the human experience: We are all seeking that sense of loving and being loved. Really, it’s a tradition that honors the commitment that we have to one another on 校园，在 信任共同体 我们在火博体育一直在建造."
——马克·C. 康纳,总统
开放和诚实的沟通
Members of the 火博体育 community were invited to make valentines celebrating their 家人、朋友和其他所爱的人.
“爱是一个光谱，每个人都有不同的形式. 今年的最爱 celebration highlighted that idea, calling everyone to notice the importance of love 在我们的日常生活中——不仅仅是在我们的浪漫经历中.
"The arts and crafts table provided students with opportunities to make cards, collages, 还有各种各样的工艺品. 我和我的朋友们互相制作卡片来表达我们的关心 为了彼此. 在我朋友的卡片上，我画了他们的宠物，我知道这有多特别 他们毛茸茸的同伴对他们来说很重要.
"Other students were making art for their loved ones as well, ranging from cards to 心形拼贴海报. 艺术允许人们表达他们的爱，无论什么 可能采取的形式. 给家人、朋友和伴侣送卡片是一种体贴的方式 to communicate your care and appreciation for someone through a gift that they can 永远珍惜."