More than 200 tiny elephants were placed on campus last week by Housing and Residential Communities to urge students to pay attention to their surroundings in order to be an effective member of the UA community.
Janine Gascoigne, HRC marketing coordinator, said the elephants were hidden from Tutwiler to Riverside and in several academic buildings in between.
“We even got a few on the Crimson Ride,” she said. “My favorite was on a student’s bike.” Gascoigne said HRC took a non-traditional, fun approach with the initiative to get unexpected results.
“When you do the expected, you get expected results,” she said. “We wanted unexpected results, so we knew we needed to do something unexpected. The best way to get someone to think is to get into their world in a new way.
The event, part of the initiative called “One team, One Bama,” is a campaign to empower students to make a difference in the UA community and to remember that, despite all of the things that make students different, UA students, faculty and staff should be greater than our differences, Gascoigne said.
“Students are looking for ways to feel like they matter and that what they do counts and impacts the campus,” she said. “So much of what we see is about thinking big. This is about thinking small. Something little can make a really big difference in someone else’s life.”
When a student found one of the 240 elephants spread across campus, they received an offer for a free coffee at the Starbucks in the Ferguson Center.
“We also knew we’d need some kind of giveaway, so were really grateful that Bama Dining could help out,” she said. The campaign is an effort promoted by the Division of Student Affairs to help students unify the UA community and find common purpose.
“It is our hope that this unique initiative will remind students that they are part of our broader university community and each small step can make a difference in the lives of others,” said Mark Nelson, vice president for student affairs, in a press release. “Taking steps toward mutual respect and care for one another only makes our students and our university stronger and the Division of Student Affairs is committed to fostering this.”
Gascoigne said she hoped the initiative helped students learn there are things or problems going on around them that they can help solve.
“The worst thing a student can do with their knowledge or suspicions is to not share them,” she said. “We don’t want students to look back on life and think, ‘I could have done something about it.’ Go ahead and do it.” Gascoigne said HRC was excited about the campaign and are hoping for student input on some of their next initiatives.
“The more the students own this idea, the better,” she said. “When it all comes together, it’s about their campus and their community.”
