Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, which means it’s our Love and Sex issue. Last year, our writers wrote all about sex and not much about love at all. They delved into the culture around casual sex, lube-tasting, kinks and more. But this cuffing season, the Trinitonian has lots to say about love. If you’re curious about all things love-related, turn to page eight to read more.

In addition to our regular staff writers who chose to contribute to this special section, a couple of guest writers submitted pieces to us, so you can look forward to some new voices.

We heard from a few students who gave unique perspectives on dating. Kezia Nyarko wrote about stereotypes and expectations that black women are faced with in the dating world. We also had some faculty and staff write in about issues related to love and sex that pertain to their areas of focus. Katherine Hewitt of Wellness Services wrote about different types of birth control, Benjamin Stevens of the Department of Classics wrote about love and ancient poetry, and Erin Sumner of the Department of Human Communication wrote about how to recognize a toxic relationship (like Bella and Edward in Twilight).

You can also read about the difficulties of dating at a small school like Trinity and what to do if you keep running into your ex every time you go to Einstein’s. Our small school means the dating pool is somewhat limited, especially if you’re a part of the queer community or come from different backgrounds and cultures that aren’t as common at Trinity.

This year, we also talk about celebrating Valentine’s Day with a friend in place of a significant other, and how it’s not the end of the world if you find yourself single on Feb. 14. More fun for you star-crossed lovers — where might you meet your soulmate on campus, according to your astrological sign?

If you feel like you can’t relate to any of this romantic, mushy content, maybe it will at least help you better understand your peers who choose to engage in the dating and hookup culture that permeates this campus. Maybe you’ll download one of those dating apps everyone seems to have on their phones. At the very least, you can find out which of your professors are married (some of them even went to Trinity themselves!)

Lastly, it wouldn’t be right to talk about love and sex on campus without going over Trinity’s sexual assault policy. In addition to the work done by the administration, Trinity’s Coalition for Respect is building towards a relaunch in March for Women’s History Month and is continuing to push towards spreading awareness of sexual justice and health issues that affect college students.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Tigers. We hope that you enjoy this chocolate-filled, Hallmark-created holiday, if you choose to celebrate it.