About 40 students met to pass out 2,500 biodegradable notes on car windshields, in classes and to passersby, all with a goal of spreading positivity at the Sample Gates.
Volunteers huddled together, using a selfie stick to post a group photo to Snapchat.
“Everybody smile,” said Kris Karol, IU director of social media strategy, before sending the students out to campus. “This is all about being positive today. You’re going to make somebody have a better day.”
The campaign, called Positive Post-It Day, is an effort to bring positivity not only to a person’s day, but to social media. Happening during Culture of Care Week, each note contains an encouraging message or quote, along with the hashtag #SmileIU.
“At the end of the semester, it’s a rough time to be a student,” Karol said. “Right now you’re in the home stretch. You’re trying to figure out all your final exam projects, and this is just a great way to show that people care about you.”
The notes, infused with wildflower seeds, are made of recycled material and read “Plant Me” on the back. Several chapters from the Panhellenic Association worked as early as two months in advance to handwrite notes on each of the cards. Some notes were written based on suggested phrases. Others were made up by those volunteering to write them.
“Never give up.” “You are AMAZING.” “Laughter is the best medicine,” they read. Some notes pulled inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller and Dr. Seuss.
“Personally, I’ve always loved quotes and positive messages, and I just try to be a positive person for everyone that I’m friends with on campus,” said freshman Hailey Scott, who volunteered during the event with her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. “I just thought this was a good way to spread the love and promote a positive image of greek life, especially here at IU.”
Karol said the idea for Positive Post-It Day came from a similar event a few years ago when a teenage student in Alberta, Canada, posted positive messages on lockers in her high school after being bullied via Facebook. Karol said the actions of this single student grew throughout the city and inspired him to bring a version of the event to IUPUI’s campus in November 2014.
Karol said the idea caught on like wildfire at IUPUI, with other students and departments taking on their own interpretation of the project.
“This is essentially a mental health boost at the end of the semester,” Karol said. “Who doesn’t want to come out to their car or get a note from somebody saying we value you or that you’re awesome?”
Having put on the Positive Post-It Day event for the first time at IU-Bloomington, Karol said he hopes the campaign becomes an annual event. He added that Mayor John Hamilton declared today Positive Post-It Day in Bloomington.
“The main thing that I hope people take away from today is that there are people out there in the world that care about them,” Karol said. “They might not even know these people, but there are genuinely nice people in the world.”
A previous version of this article said former Mayor Mark Kruzan declared Positive Post-It Day. It should have said Mayor John Hamilton, who was elected into office November 2015, declared Positive Post-It Day. The IDS regrets this error.
