Lauren Alfaro, Contributing Photographer

Don’t be surprised if you see groups of singers break into romantic, goofy serenades across campus this week. The New Blue of Yale, an SSAA a cappella group, brings sweet Valentine’s Day melodies to the forefront of classes like Econ 115 and Biology 103 — often with an undertone of humor and embarrassment.

This past week, the a cappella group has delivered close to a hundred Singing Valentines to Yalies, ordered for them by significant others, secret admirers and friends alike. Part of the group’s fundraising effort for their international tour to Ireland in May, the Singing Valentines can be purchased on the group’s website for $10, with the option to add flowers, candy and a custom card. 

“I’m a big believer that Yale, when it comes to holidays, gets really wrapped up in the spirit of it, and I really love it,” said Lauren Alfaro ’28, one of the New Blue’s three “love-meisters.” “Singing Valentines has been a great way for friends to send other friends messages, and to just spread a message of love to someone they might not even know that well.”

Love-meisters like Alfaro are the group’s first years, or “bloibs.” They are in charge of coordinating, scheduling and assigning Singing Valentines to the New Blue members. 

After creating a spreadsheet with order details — names of senders, their intended recipients, chosen song and the times and locations of the performances —- the love meisters email professors asking for permission to sing in front of their classes.  

Some professors, shared Alfaro, are more reluctant when it comes to having their class time disrupted, while others find the oftentimes embarrassing exchanges hilarious. 

“Last year I ordered one for [my boyfriend] during his ultimate frisbee practice in PWG,” said Amiah Hanson ’27, who is also a member of the New Blue. “We marched up among all these sweaty people. I cornered him and we sang a barbershop quartet at 3:30 p.m. in PWG.”

Hanson and her boyfriend have been dating for a year and a half now. For their first Valentine’s Day together, they decided to send each other Singing Valentines. Because Hanson was then a love-meister, she knew exactly when she would be receiving hers: in the middle of a Biology 103 lecture. 

This year, however, her a cappella group has adamantly kept Hanson in the dark about the performance. For her boyfriend’s Valentine, Hanson said that she plans to sing “East of the Sun” with the rest of the group — one of the slower, more romantic pieces in the group’s repertoire. 

“The notion of a barbershop quartet is pretty cutesy because they’re older songs,” said Hanson. “[Singing Valentines] has evolved to contain more funny things as well, but it really just depends on what you’re trying to do. There’s enough song variety to decide.”

On the order form linked on the group’s website, students have a selection of six songs to choose from, ranging from romantic to more humorous and light-hearted, like “It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie” —  a song often selected for friends.

In addition to sending Singing Valentines to significant others and close friends, some people also place orders to “create drama,” said Rachel Camille Bish ’28, another of the New Blue’s love-meisters. 

A few days ago, for instance, a student spent $43 on seven Valentines all for the same person —  who the group initially believed to be the sender’s partner, Bish shared. The next day, however, the group received an email from the presumed sender, who revealed that his friends had posed as him to buy these Valentines. 

Bish said the sender shared that his friends had plotted to get him and his ex-partner back together and requested that the group not deliver the Valentines. 

The opportunity to order anonymously plays a central role in the Singing Valentines culture on campus, said Laine Banziger ’28, and allows the performances to create some intrigue surrounding fellow students’ love lives. 

“I’m sending one to my suitemate Kayla, because she told me that she would die if someone sent her a Valentine during her Econ class, which is also when I’m sending it,” said Banziger. “It’s going to be anonymous so no one in her class is going to know who it’s from,” she continued. 

The New Blue has already collected well over $1000, with most of their sales happening this Thursday and Friday.