Too Sweet to Resist (Pro)   

Harleigh Wiesenbach

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Features Editor

  You know what time of year it is: Valentine’s Day. Whether this is the day you hang out with the one you love or curl up on the couch alone watching movies and eating ice cream, we all know what candy comes dancing along with this romantic holiday. Just like candy corn during Halloween, most people are on two ends of the spectrum when it comes to candy hearts, aka Sweethearts or conversation hearts: you either love them or hate them. If you’re one of those people who loves candy hearts, feel free to nod along with my argument, but if you’re one of the ones that hate candy hearts, you better sit down and buckle up.

  Let’s get the usual argument out of the way: they taste good. While certain people may think they taste horrible or hate the texture of them, they actually taste pretty good with the different flavors. Plus, they tend to only come around during the month of February, so you can’t get sick of them over a course of a year or two. However, while I doubt I can change your taste buds, perhaps I can instead change your minds.

  I think the “they taste good” or “they taste bad” arguments overshadow the symbolism behind these candy hearts. I know what you’re thinking: they’re not even shaped like hearts, you can’t tell what they say half the time, and, again, you may or may not even like them in the first place. And who wants candy hearts when you can get flowers or chocolate or anything else of romantic essence instead? My response to you is: have you ever heard of the saying, “It’s the thought that counts?” Well, you can count on the fact that your lover was thinking of you when he/she bought them. Why be so picky about a gift someone clearly went out of his/her way to buy just for you?

   Speaking of flowers and chocolates, do you know how much they cost? A dozen roses can cost around $20 at any local store, and if you specifically want them from a florist, they can be around $90! Chocolates are cheaper, though, right? Not by much: a pound of custom chocolate in a heart-shaped box is about $45 at Sarris! That’s expensive! You might be thinking that’s a good thing if your lover buys you something expensive like that, but is it really? Think about all those inexpensive but irreplaceable gifts: homemade cards or hearts that have little messages on them for example. They’re something from the heart. For Valentine’s Day, it would be more special if he/she got you something cheap that practically no one gets anymore over something expensive that practically everyone gets. The most I ever see candy hearts is when when they are passed around in school or put into little Valentine boxes made by children. I have never seen a box of candy hearts presented to someone’s lover on Valentine’s Day. With the fact that no one does it as an act of love anymore, receiving that box of candy hearts is a little more special now, isn’t it?

  If your Valentine didn’t give you any this year, or any year for that matter, think about when the last time you got candy hearts. That answer probably goes back to my analogy with the children receiving them in Valentine boxes. Do you know how old you were back then? At least in elementary school, right? Don’t these Sweethearts make you remember that time of innocence and fun?

  Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t deny the symbolism of love, especially on a day like Valentine’s Day. Maybe consider giving a box to your Valentine this year, or picking out a heart with a message you specifically want your Valentine to see. I don’t know if it’ll last For Ever like the hearts foretell, but it’s a cute, romantic gesture that’s sure to get a Smile and make Valentine’s Day the Best Day. After all, nothing else says You Shine or Marry Me like a candy heart.

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The Chalky Reality Behind Candy Hearts (Con)

Holly Jordan

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Reporter

  Imagine. It’s elementary school again. You’ve decorated your box for Valentine’s Day and picked out some cards with your favorite characters and got some candy to give to your classmates (or at least one of your parents did it for you). It’s one of the only other days of the year where people will just give you candy. The excitement is building and finally you get to see what you’ve been given. What did you get? Sweethearts. Ugh. Not only do these small little vaguely heart shaped pieces of candy have the texture and feel of chalk, they taste like it too. If I wanted to eat something with all of those qualities, I’d probably just eat actual chalk.

Let’s be honest, no one in their right mind buys these things for themselves. They’re cheap candies with sayings that are less than romantic. It’s 2018 people, you can stop pretending to like them for the sake of not being rude to whomever gave you the small box of disgusting candies they got for less than a dollar. That’s really romantic, right? I’m sure there’s nothing like professing your love for someone with sweets invented in the 1800s trying to keep up with the times with messages like, “FAX ME” or “UR HOT.” Even if they aren’t being used in the context of a romantic situation, the sayings on the hearts still remain cringeworthy and laughable.

  Sure there have been some evolutions since the time they started selling them, but mostly for the sake of focusing the product on appealing  to children, with brighter colors, and new flavors, that still don’t make the candy any better. At one point, NECCO tried to switch the flavors to be more natural and had to switch back to artificial flavors because sales declined. Not only that, but at one point they had Twilight themed Sweethearts, which, while popular at the time, makes the whole thing seem even more artificial. It’s sad to see that this invention that used to be new and exciting is just another marketing ploy for the holidays.

  So this Valentine's Day, when you inevitably get at least one pack of the conversation hearts we love to hate, do yourself a favor, and don’t eat them. There are plenty of other activities and experiments that you can do with them if you’re interested or, better yet throw them in the trash. Throw them in the trash and never look back.

Harleigh vs Holly