Ada Fryer hoped for it — and it happened.
Wednesday marked the first Vandal Acts of Kindness day in several years.
Members of ASUI volunteered their time to help put on the event, which began Wednesday morning. Senators and board members passed out water, chips and soda to students as they entered the Idaho Commons. They also acted kindly, opening doors and simply saying hi to students and staff as they entered the building.
“I think everyone appreciates a little kindness,” said Fryer, ASUI senator. “As a whole the U of I campus is pretty friendly, I just thought this would be a cool event to showcase that, and do something nice.”
In her second year with ASUI, Fryer heads the student engagement task force. Her goal for fall semester was to bring the Vandal Acts of Kindness event back to campus.
“They did it in 2008, and I saw a photo album of it which made me think about how we should bring it back,” Fryer said. “People appreciate kindness.”
ASUI members began the day at 8 a.m. outside the Commons. They handed out brightly colored note cards with suggestions for small acts of kindness. Suggestions included things as simple as opening a door for someone, or saying thank you to an administrator.
“The idea is that once someone completes an act of kindness, they’ll pass their card on to someone else and the kindness will spread all over campus,” Fryer said. “It’s just a continuous cycle of kind things going on throughout the day.”
ASUI members agreed that the event was a success, and was a good way to showcase the kindness already displayed on UI’s Moscow campus.
Hannah Blankenship, ASUI communications board chair, had a hand in planning the event.
“We had a lot of positive feedback from students,” Blankenship said. “People were really excited about it. I noticed that several people opened doors for me, and I gave a couple compliments and made a couple people’s day. It was a great event.”
In accordance with the day, ASUI members spent the week prior to the event thanking university faculty and staff for their hard work. ASUI members delivered cookies and thank you notes to staff members across campus.
“We just wanted to give back and say ‘Thank you’ for everything they do,” Fryer said.
Blankenship said she hopes the kindness will continue even though the event is over.
“It’s just a reminder that it feels good when someone does something nice for you,” Fryer said. “Saying thank you or opening the door isn’t something that’s too hard.”