On Monday, Feb. 13, Operation K led its first Random Acts of Kindness week. With Operation K being a newer club on campus, this week is one of its bigger events. Its other large event is the Destress Fest at the end of the year.
Operation K began its week by making “Take what you need” signs for the women’s restrooms in Hollenbeck. These signs had words students could pull off that are things people sometimes feel they are lacking. Hope, courage and peace were a few examples.
Operation K also traveled through the halls of Hollenbeck hanging encouraging notes. Some examples of the notes the club left are: “We rise by lifting others,” “Make America kind again” and “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
On Feb. 15, Operation K set up a table from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the atrium of Hollenbeck. The club began the day by making small notes that had a kind statement on them. The goal was to entice students to pick up the notes, either for themselves or others, and to pass them on through the day. Candy strewn across the table also attracted curious students.
Throughout the day, students were also asked to write notes and leave them on the table for others to pick up. Operation K named this event “Having Kindness We Pass It On to Others.” Caitlin Martin, ‘18, the co-president of Operation K, saw many students walking by and taking notes.
“A lot of the people check [the table] out [while] heading to class,” Martin said.
One of the situations that Martin distinctly remembered was a male student on a phone with his mother. The candy on the table seemed to catch his attention and, while at the table, he grabbed a few notes and later passed them onto his friends. This is the type of reaction Operation K was hoping for when the club started this event.
The final day of Random Acts of Kindness Week was Feb. 17. This is an important day for the week because the day aligns with the National Random Acts of Kindness Day. Operation K yet again set up a table in the atrium of Hollenbeck and placed a large sign on it. Students were to write something kind someone had done for them or something that makes them feel happy. The students could then take a piece of candy after writing on the sign.
Operation K plans to hang the sign in either Hollenbeck or the Student Center, depending on which becomes available first. Martin said many students stopped by the table and asked what the event was. The sign was filled with bright marker stories of things that had been done throughout the day for others.
“In today’s world, we should do more random acts of kindness,” Martin said. “Doing something kind can go a long way.”
