Yvonne Tran & Thanh Nguyen

The fragrance of flowers fills the air. Son

gs and poems are written and cards are given. Jewelry glistens bright as the stars in the sky. Valentine’s Day is here and love is in the air!

In response to the special holiday, Oakland High student classes hosted a variety of Valentine’s Day events and presales.

As Valentine’s Day drew in sight, Oakland High students could pre-purchase a message in a bottle, romantic “night in Paris” themed photos, teddy bears, and carnations. Students also got “married” at the school’s wedding booth, and attended the Winter Ball. Tickets and items were limited and there were deadlines to purchase. However, some students didn’t care about the holiday.

“Valentine’s Day is nothing special,” said sophomore Theresa Quan. “It’s a usual day as [any] other day.”

Senior students Diana Burgos and Nancy Hernandez shows off their Valentine's Day gifts. 2/14/12 Image Credit: Yvonne Tran.

Other high schools in the school district also have Valentine’s Day events and fundraisers. Message in a bottle sale profits went to sophomore accounts, Valentine’s Day photo shoot sale profits went to the junior class, bears and carnation sale profits benefited the senior class, and Winter Ball and wedding booth revenues went to the Oakland High leadership class to hold more events and activities.

According to sophomore class president Shirley Lai, the sophomore class sold the messages in a bottle this year for $3 each and a bundle of three for a discount price of $7. Students were allowed to send letters anonymously. Sales started early from Jan. 17 and ended Jan. 23 in order to avoid buying too many or not enough bottles.

“Instead of buying the bottles first and aiming to sell out, we [tried to] sell as much as possible and then order the bottles,” said Lai. “This way we wouldn’t lose money if we didn’t sell all the bottles, or lose customers by not having enough bottles.”

From Feb. 6 to Feb. 10, the junior class held Valentine’s Day photo shoots during lunch outside the commons near the gym, according to junior class president Ellie Cao. The junior class held similar photo shoot events last Christmas and last year, while the class of 2011 hosted photo shoots in previous years. There were 7 different borders to choose from, including the option of not having a border. Photos were delivered on Valentines Day during 4th period.

“Something that [made] the photo shoot stand out is that we have a romantic night Paris theme,” said Cao.

This year the seniors of 2012 sold teddy bears and carnations for Valentine’s Day, according to senior class president Nicole Saechao. Bears and carnations were delivered to 4th period classes on Valentine’s Day.

“Seniors are fundraising for our last and final year of high school,” said Saechao. “So we give each fundraiser our all.”

On Feb. 8, the Oakland High leadership class hosted a wedding booth event for students who wanted to get “married.”  Like past wedding booths, students received a false certificate of marriage, a ring to symbolize commitment and a picture to remember their special day, according to senior Malcolm Davis. For $1, students could have a picture, certificate and a regular ring. For $2, they could get a picture, certificate, and a candy ring. Additional pictures were available for $1. The scene simply consisted of a balloon covered arch.

“The background was plain and simple,” said Davis. “Just there to complement the newly married couple.”

The Leadership class hosted the “Winter Ball 2012: T.G.I.F.!” on Friday, Feb 10 from 7:30pm to 11pm at the Jack London Aquatic Center, according to the event’s facebook page. The dress code was semi-formal and was enforced by security checks. The event was open to all OHS students and required a 2.0 minimum GPA. The limited amount of tickets started selling on January 17th for $10 with ASB and $12 for guests and those without ASB. Prices raised by $1 every week until Feb. 10. Non-OHS guests were required to be high school students, and needed passes from assistant principal Jeff Rogers.

“The winter ball went really smoothly,” said Davis. “Personally, I [had] fun!”

Although most single people don’t care about Valentine’s Day, some look forward to it anyway.

“I spent the [Valentine’s Day] evening watching a movie with my homies,” said 2011 alumnus Geoffrey Dang. “Now, that’s how you spend Valentine’s Day!”