How a geography project brightened up Vari Hall
Yuni Kim
News Editor
@YuniKimchi
For at least a few hours, a group of students’ class project brought smiles to the students and faculty passing through Vari Hall.
The group was not handing out flyers to the latest campus event or off-campus nightclub, but instead were handing out small slips of blue paper with optimistic, positive messages.
“Have a great day!” read one slip. “You look great today!” read another.
The project, which was part of a 4000-level geography course called Public Space, aimed to challenge the idea of what public spaces such as Vari Hall are really for.
Vari Hall, says fourth-year environmental studies and urban studies major Alix Jolicoeur, can be considered the “heart of campus.” Along with her group mates, Jolicoeur found that the reaction was mostly positive.
“A lot of students and staff were surprised to see us offering free hugs, handshakes, or high fives,” she says. “Many smiled while walking away, showed it to a friend, a few quickly tossed it in the recycling bin.”
To the group’s surprise, some individuals decided to return the impromptu favour.
“One person returned the slip with a positive message of her own on the back, another returned to give me a handshake and a friendly hug,” she recalls. “Another looked back and said ‘thank you.’ Why should interacting with other students in such a simple way be so out of the ordinary?”
