A mysterious page on Facebook that began about a year ago has been promoting positivity and community on McDaniel’s campus through anonymous compliments to students and staff. McDaniel Compliments started its campaign last January and has expanded from one staff member to four and from just a Facebook page to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the real world.
McDaniel Compliments was born from a news article about other colleges using social media sites to promote community. The “Creator” of the page, who wishes to remain anonymous, says she was “inspired to take on McDaniel Compliments to get a better sense of community and see how far this campus could really grow together.”
As the project evolved, the number of compliments became overwhelming and The Creator took on a “Partner-In-Crime.” The two administrators, both members of the class of 2014, ran the page together for most of last year, before taking on two new recruits, both of whom were chosen, according to The Creator, “because they went out of their way to compliment other people.”
Anonymity has been extremely important to the administrators, both for themselves as well as for the people giving the compliments.
As one of the admins mentioned, “It’s about the people who receive the compliments. When you make it about the people who are running the site, it diminishes the experience that the other people get to have.”
While the main focus of McDaniel Compliments has been on their Facebook presence, they are also active in positive projects across campus. Last year, they began a Random Acts of Kindness campaign and left anonymous inspirational quotes in random campus mailboxes.
Their current project, involving seniors writing inspirational letters to themselves for graduation day, was thought up by McDaniel Compliments’ Partner-In-Crime. She came up with the idea from her own personal experience. She writes herself a note when she’s going through a tough time and thinks seniors could benefit from their own personal pep-talk before such a huge event.
A box has been placed in Ensor Lounge for seniors to leave their letters, and the McDaniel Compliments admins are encouraging seniors to email photos to mcdanielcompliments@gmail.com for a special graduation-day surprise.
