Attending University becomes a mundane experience when one forgets that life is bigger than academia. This beast called education devours students into monotonies such as studying, attending class, work schedules, and group projects. How do we redeem education so that students actively learn? So that we as people, not just students, have experiences? This is what I hope to accomplish during my last year (for now) of school, and I have some ideas on what I can do.
You see, there's this group out there called Improv Everywhere and their goal is to "[cause] scenes of chaos and joy in public places." What will that look like at GVSU? Here are some ideas:
1: Create a booth somewhere on campus with a sign that says "(: Smiles for $1 :)" or something like that. Then when students come up to you to ask what's going on hold out a dollar bill and offer it to them if they'll smile for you. Simple. They smile, you give them the dollar, and everyone becomes happier. Seems worth it to me.
2: This one's also related to money, but it goes back to a story I heard on NPR one day while driving to Grand Rapids. It was about a man who approximately a year ago decided to give $10 to someone, anyone, each day for a year. He'd set aside the money and started giving it out to anyone he thought might need it, regardless of who they were. They didn't have to be homeless or anything. I'd like to do that, but with $5, simply because I don't have a ton of personal money floating around.
3: Play a game of tag: This one involves creating a business card or something similar, and small, with the word "TAG" on it, and perhaps in a smaller font "You're It" On the back of the card would be a few rules like, "You must pass this card in 5 minutes or forfeit TAG," and, "You must say "Hello," and introduce yourself to the tagee," and maybe, "visit www.somewebsite.com" to update having been tagged."
4: Attempt to get everyone at the university to ride bicycles or rollerblades or some other form of transportation. This would have to be done carefully.
5: Get groups of people to lay on the ground and stare at the clouds all hemming and hawing so more people join.
These are just a few of the thoughts I had that might bring brightness to the days that my friends and collegues spend at this institution. Not all of them are as thought out as the others, but pursuing these ideas could be interesting, and I'd love to start. Who will join me?
You see, there's this group out there called Improv Everywhere and their goal is to "[cause] scenes of chaos and joy in public places." What will that look like at GVSU? Here are some ideas:
1: Create a booth somewhere on campus with a sign that says "(: Smiles for $1 :)" or something like that. Then when students come up to you to ask what's going on hold out a dollar bill and offer it to them if they'll smile for you. Simple. They smile, you give them the dollar, and everyone becomes happier. Seems worth it to me.
2: This one's also related to money, but it goes back to a story I heard on NPR one day while driving to Grand Rapids. It was about a man who approximately a year ago decided to give $10 to someone, anyone, each day for a year. He'd set aside the money and started giving it out to anyone he thought might need it, regardless of who they were. They didn't have to be homeless or anything. I'd like to do that, but with $5, simply because I don't have a ton of personal money floating around.
3: Play a game of tag: This one involves creating a business card or something similar, and small, with the word "TAG" on it, and perhaps in a smaller font "You're It" On the back of the card would be a few rules like, "You must pass this card in 5 minutes or forfeit TAG," and, "You must say "Hello," and introduce yourself to the tagee," and maybe, "visit www.somewebsite.com" to update having been tagged."
4: Attempt to get everyone at the university to ride bicycles or rollerblades or some other form of transportation. This would have to be done carefully.
5: Get groups of people to lay on the ground and stare at the clouds all hemming and hawing so more people join.
These are just a few of the thoughts I had that might bring brightness to the days that my friends and collegues spend at this institution. Not all of them are as thought out as the others, but pursuing these ideas could be interesting, and I'd love to start. Who will join me?
