In an effort to assess how conscious UNC-Chapel Hill students are of their actions, I went around campus asking students about kindness. I posed two questions:
1. What is the most recent act of kindness or favor that you did for another person or UNC student?
2. What kind act would you like for other UNC students to do for you?
The responses varied, as I tried to avoid the common and sometimes under-appreciated “I hold the door for people” response.
Unsurprisingly, the responses in result were honest and caring; as people took time to think about this, they realized how what we do for others actually creates an impact.
Here are some student responses and tips on how to be a good person (when you want to be).
Taylor Byers, right
First-year
Linguistics major from Durham
1. “I brought my roommate Nutella because it was her hell week. All of her midterms were last week.”
2. “Don’t play music out loud in study lounges.”
Bridget Killian, left
First-year
Global Studies and Political Science major from Durham
1. ”I brought flowers to my friend who was in a play.”
2. ”Be quieter when they're walking through the dorm hallways at night.”
Langden Ramseur
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1. ”I do a lot of kind things ... but recently I helped someone who was really lost that had to get from Franklin to South Campus, so I walked them back to where they had to be."
2. ”To have other students talk to me and give me advice and experience on their time at Carolina."
Patrick Conlon
2nd Year student at UNC School of Law from Westfield, New Jersey
1. "I try to brighten up the days of customer service employees. I like to give genuine thank you's and pleasant interactions because most people don't appreciate them."
2. "Come play basketball with me on Friday afternoons — every Friday at 3 o' clock. At Woollen (Gym)."
Tyler Preizler
Junior
Exercise and Sports Science major from Westchester, New York
1. "Just now, my fraternity brother needed a laptop and, instead of doing my homework, I helped him out by letting him use my laptop for an hour.”
2. “I’d like for people to be interested in my world. I believe everyone has their own perspective and experience, and it's really nice when people are interested in my perspective and world. And I try to do the same for my friends.”
Alexandra Crow, Left
Sophomore
Nursing major from Jacksonville, North Carolina
1. “I let my roommate take my curling iron and nail polish to N.C. State this weekend. I also took out her trash for her.”
2. "I don't want anyone to run me over with their bike."
Gabriella Aboulafia, Right
Sophomore
Pre-Heath Policy and Management major from Houston, Texas
1. ”I check in on my friends after tests to make sure it went well.”
2. ”I think if everyone worked on their authenticity, that would be great, because more people here are stressed out than we think, and if we all admitted to it we wouldn’t be putting up these walls.”
Connor Frost
Sophomore
Biomedical Engineering major from Vancouver, Canada
1. “I clean up our room all the time because I feel guilty about stealing his food.”
2. “Stop driving through crosswalks when I'm trying to walk across the street.”
Kaleia Martin, Left
Graduate Student Social Work from Charlotte
1. “I make a point to speak to the people that work here and acknowledge that they're human because they deserve that respect.”
2. “I wouldn't mind if people spoke more and acknowledge each other when you see someone looking at you.”
Shawn Dunkley, Middle
Junior
Exercise and Sports Science major from Kingston, Jamaica
1. “I shared some food with my roommates.”
2. “Yeah, I agree with that, too.” (in reference to Kaleia's answer)
Psalms White, Right
Sophomore
Communication Studies major from Charlotte
1. “I make an effort to give people compliments because I like making people happy, and I like getting them, too.”
2. “I agree with that, it’s nice.” (in reference to Kaleia's answer)
Kylie Mihok
First-year
Biology major from Zionsville, Indiana
1. ”I sold UNC to a recruit I had visiting. We went to good restaurants and I walked around the quad with him, so now he loves it."
2. ”I would love the door to be held for me and not let it close when I’m walking up the stairs and I'm right there.”
Sandra-Anne Kernodle
Sophomore
Chemistry major from Burlington, NC
1. “I give random people compliments.”
2. “For people to smile back when I smile at them. They just look at me like I'm awkward as if it's weird to smile."
Skyler Golann
Junior
Public Policy major from Hinesburg, Vermont
1. ”I peer reviewed this girl's paper who missed the peer review day. There wasn't any credit for it, but I offered to help her out."
2. ”Come support the football team like the way we support the basketball team. That would honestly make me pretty happy."
