Since the dawn of time, roses – especially red ones – have been associated with love and romance. But why? Maybe because at one time they symbolized Aphrodite, goddess of love, lust and fertility. The early Christians were also crazy about them, mind you, although for them the meaning was a bit less saucy than for the Greeks: an ode to the Virgin Mary and the symbol of devotion, as illustrated by the rosary as a prayer aid.

Many flowers have actually been endowed with a meaning, although they’re often less known. The red rose has always remained a symbol of love, which requires few words. Words can help, of course, so if you decide to give someone a rose through Cursor, a card with a message will be included. This can be anything you like, as long as it’s no more than 40 words – and nothing unpleasant of course! Anyone come to mind while you’re reading this?

Participate

If you want to give away a rose, send an email to cursor@remove-this.tue.nl stating ‘rose’ in the subject line. In the body of the email, clearly write the first and last name of the intended recipient and whether they’re a student or member of staff. Also write a short message to the person (max 40 words), which will be written on the card attached to the rose. The roses are delivered anonymously by default, the way Cupid intended it. If you do want your real name on the card instead, make sure to expressly indicate this.

As Valentine’s Day falls on spring break this year and many people will therefore be off, we will deliver the roses to recipients with their own office on campus on February 20. The remaining recipients will be able to pick up their roses that same day (see Conditions below for details).

Conditions

• You must be a TU/e student or member of staff and the same goes for the person you wish to give a rose.
• Cursor will give away a maximum of 200 free roses, so be quick.
• You can request a rose to be sent until 12 noon on February 16.
• Roses for members of staff will be delivered to their office on Tuesday, February 20, provided the office is located on campus and its details are in Outlook.
• Students and other members of staff will receive an email saying that Cupid has a rose for them and they can collect these themselves on Tuesday, February 20, on the second floor of Metaforum, where Cursor will have a table set up between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM.