After a long and exhausting day of classes, club meetings and work, I begin my trek from North Campus down south to my dorm. I walk down the steps by the Carolina Union and as I cross South Road I am greeted by a familiar beaming face. Rita, the crossing guard stationed here is one of the friendliest and most outgoing people I have ever met; she greets all students who cross the road under her supervision and most students greet and thank her in return. “Have a good day sweetheart” and “thank you, you too” are exchanged for hours on end when she is working.
This outpouring of gratitude is not afforded to the other crossing guards on campus. Another guard, Ryan, is also stationed on South Road, between the Bell Tower and Wilson Library. While he stands within eyeshot of the aforementioned crosswalk, he receives little to no gratitude.
When contrasting the amounts of appreciation that these crossing guards get, I find the outpouring of it to be almost performative; for the most part, students only show gratitude when they feel that they need to reciprocate it. These crossing guards, or any other UNC employee, should not be expected to initiate kindness to receive it in return.
As I groggily make my way to my 8 a.m., I spy groundskeepers blowing leaves and mowing lawns before most students have even woken up. While I lay on the futon in my dorm, the housekeeping staff cleans our suite bathroom every day. And when I ascend the escalator into the dining hall, CDS employees work tirelessly to put food on my plate.
These are just a few of the countless UNC employees who work nearly invisibly behind the scenes. They ensure that the campus remains presentable, the buildings are clean and that food is served. These employees are already doing their job, their smiles and warmth are just extraneous. They play a pivotal role in creating a positive and welcoming campus community; we can do the bare minimum and contribute to it as well.
As their work puts them behind the scenes, they rarely get the recognition and gratitude that they deserve. As a result, these workers remain largely unacknowledged, their contributions unnoticed unless they go out of their way to actively engage with the student body. This is why the difference in the amount of gratitude that we express is so stark. While many students offer thanks only when prompted, there are individuals like Rita whose kindness flows naturally.
While students overwhelmingly show gratitude in a performative way, to meet the kindness already shared or to look like a good person in front of their peers, Rita does not. Her kindness is genuine. She gets nothing from warmly greeting students for hours on end yet does it anyways. Her kindness shows no bound, being extended to anyone who crosses South Road on her watch.
We are all busy students; whether we are rushing to class, chatting with a friend or being lost in our thoughts, it can be hard to remember to express this gratitude to the hundreds of people who keep this school running. Thankfully, you don’t need to go to great lengths to do so.
Introduce yourself to the groundskeepers, housekeepers, dining hall staff and of course crossing guards that you interact with or see on a regular basis. Build a connection with them and be kind for kindness's sake, not because you are in a crowd of your peers and want to put on a good face, but because you know it is right. Do this, and take part in creating a genuinely kind community on campus and beyond.
