President Ruth Simmons has certainly been out and about on campus a lot this week.

To start off, her face has been plastered around campus on Brown Women’s Rugby Football Club flyers, advertising $2 raffle tickets through Friday to win a one-hour lunch with the president. For those without even $2 to spare, attendance at an entire team practice will suffice.

But even that price might be too steep for those residents of Barbour Hall that got to hang out with President Simmons for free, when she showed up as a surprise guest to the 2nd Barbour Family Style Potluck Feb. 8. Barbour’s Community Assistants invited the president to the first potluck last semester, but she was unable to come, Victoria Chen ’11, one of the CAs, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. President Simmons stayed at the potluck for about half an hour, chatting with students about — what else? — the upcoming Super Bowl.

But while she has appeared on posters around campus and in residence halls, there is one place where President Simmons doesn’t seem to be on students’ minds. Despite rumors that students were listing the president as a crush, not a single e-mail from Prospect & Meeting, Brown’s new dating site, has been sent to either of President Simmons’ two Brown e-mail addresses, Assistant to the President Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar ’87 MA’90 PhD’09 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald (though she added that they may have been caught by a spam filter).

“Maybe everyone is just TALKING about putting her down as a prospect!” Rodriguez-Farrar wrote.

— Nicole Friedman

On Valentine’s Day, one normally hopes to be eating dinner in a chic Thayer restaurant across from that significant other. But for the most of us, a good-ol dinn at the Ratty will suffice for the 14th. And let’s be honest, what’s sweeter—candies and cards or Gail’s smile? Exactly.

So what does Gail think of this Hallmark Holiday? Adorable? Overrated?

“I think [Valentine's Day] gives you a reason to be a little whimsical and put a little ‘zing’ into your relationship.”

Gail, who thinks of Cupid’s Day as a “nice” holiday, appreciates flowers above all other Valentine’s Day gifts. But, Gail is not one to be preoccupied with how many flowers are lavished on her.

“It’s still about giving rather than receiving.”

So, next time you are alone on Valentine’s and wonder when Cupid’s arrow will strike your heart,keep Gail’s words in mind and shoot out an arrow yourself. A smile back to Gail is always a good start. Happy Valentine’s Day!

—Ana Alvarez