Houston Hall hosts Valentine's dinner

Merchants and the Office of Student Life sponsored Wednesday's social event. The aura of a real restaurant emanated from Houston Hall's Hall of Flags during a special Valentine's Day celebration Wednesday night. The event was a collaborative effort organized by the Office of Student Life and Houston Hall merchants, according to Tom Baltaeff, the owner of University Photo in Houston Hall. At a monthly meeting with Houston Hall merchants last year, Thomas Hauber, associate director of Student Life Activities and Facilities, proposed the idea for the event -- and "[the merchants] really picked up on it," Baltaeff said. Red and white tablecloths adorned tables in the Hall of Flags yesterday, which were also decorated with candles and red and pink carnations in tall vases, giving the hall a classy restaurant atmosphere. Members from three musical groups -- the University Choir, Counterparts and One Spirit -- provided romantic, relaxing song, piano and violin music. As students entered the hall, a hostess seated them and presented them with a bright pink laminated Valentine's Day menu. The menu -- which was half in French and half in English -- featured main courses, beverages and desserts, all of which came from Houston Hall restaurants. Prices ranged from 89 cents for a beverage to $4.99 for a tuna melt accompanied by a soda and soup. Houston Hall restaurant owners produced the collaborative menu -- which contained items from all the restaurants -- enabling students to pay just one bill. At the end of the night, merchants divided up the earnings, according to Dick Root, the owner of Auntie Anne's Pretzels. Once seated, the students were waited on by employees and owners of the shops in Houston Hall -- all dressed in black pants and white shirts. In addition to the culinary fare, Baltaeff took complimentary "Sweetheart snapshots" of all of the students present at the event. "We are going to put them on a giant display in front of Houston Hall," Baltaeff said. And students could win prizes -- including CDs, free dry cleaning, game room tokens, vouchers for food and a care package from Penn Student Agencies -- through a bi-hourly raffle from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A special Valentine's trolley brought students to the event from five stops on campus. Students and organizers said they were pleasantly surprised by the scope of the event. "I think it is a cute idea," College sophomore Lisa Palladino said. Palladino added that she and her friends decided to attend the event because "it [was] a nice change from the usual dining hall." "It's a little overdone, but at the same time it's cute" Engineering junior Neel Mehta said. And Paul Reynolds, assistant manager of Student Life Activities and Facilities, said he hopes the event will continue in future years. "I think it is going really well," Reynolds said. "Students seem to be really happy with it. They would like to see more of it."