Have a virtual Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day can be rough. It is a holiday revered by some (namely Hallmark executives) and feared by others. Regardless of which category you generally fall into, you may find that you'll wake up at some point this weekend, roll over and realize that the only person you have to make-out with this V-Day is reminiscent of seventh grade slumber parties. Let me warn you: pillows don't taste that great.

Luckily for campus singles, technology has come a long way since the late 80s. Valentine's Day does not have to be as painful as one fears. We do not have to spend Saturday evening plopped on our bed, alone with a bottle of wine heartily belting Jaime O'Neal's "All Those who are depressed during this "day of love" without a mate to call our own really do not want to hear about how happy one of our fellow students has become after finding love online. That's fabulous for them, not so fabulous for us. Rather, we'd like to assume that everyone is as miserable as our own single selves.

So, this Valentine's Day, we have two options when it comes to online dating. The first, is the running of the bulls approach: joining the masses. According to ComScore Media Medtrix, Match.com has attracted over 5.5 million users nation wide since 1992. Yahoo! Personals has serviced nearly 4.5 million.

Online dating is a growing and successful way to meet a mate if you actually give it a shot, and could be the perfect option for you this Valentine's Day. A bit of an online chat or, if you're really speedy, a semi-blind date might be in the cards.

If you, like many college students, are a bit leery of those dates you might procure on these Web sites, your parents would likely be proud. You must have been listening when they told you not to talk to strangers. Yet have no fear. You too can enjoy the benefits of online dating. Just ask some of your fellow students.

Seniors Garrett Hooker and Brendan Benson have tried online dating. If you know them, you're probably laughing at that statement. These are two boys who love to have a good time and don't take much of anything too seriously. It's probably unsurprising that they did not take online dating seriously either.

Bored one night, they decided it might be fun to sign-up one of their roommates, Phillipe, at AmericanSingles.com.

"We thought he could use a little help with the ladies," Benson said laughing. "He always needs help in that department."

They entered all of his personal information, along with his e-mail address and instant messenger name, hoping that it would elicit responses.

"We wrote in his profile that he had a soft body and that he liked long walks on the beach," said Hooker. "It was actually pretty obnoxious, but pretty funny at the same time."

Phillipe was a bit surprised when he got some strange instant messages a few days later, but he soon discovered what his friends had done to him.

"He was a little pissed," said Benson. "It definitely took him a while to see the humor, but finally he came around and laughed with us."

So if you're stuck staring at your roommate on Valentine's Day, both bitter about your lack of romantic entertainment, consider your options.

It's either get online and try to get yourself a date, or play a malicious joke on that undeserving chick dating your dream man.

Either could add some much needed spice to an otherwise uneventful holiday.

û Contact Michelle Murphy at (408) 554-4546 or mdmurphy@scu.edu.