A new Facebook page has the sole purpose of dishing out anonymous compliments to the Rhodes community.
By Aaron Banks ‘15
“When he walks the earth shakes. Thor′s hammer strikes with less intensity than Jersey Daves′ sideburns. Let all who read this, go out and speak of a great man...JD.”
This quote wasn’t found in a new fantasy novel, but on a new Facebook page that has emerged in the Rhodes community, one with the sole purpose of dishing out anonymous compliments to the student body. The page, aptly named Rhodes Compliments, was inspired by a similar page at Queen’s University in Ontario and is part of a larger viral movement, with compliments pages created for more than 100 schools across the U.S. and Canada to date.
Compliments are sent to the page via private message. If the compliment is deemed appropriate, it is then posted anonymously on the page for all to see. The compliment is also linked to the name of whoever is being complimented, so that it will appear on their wall as well. One student summed up the purpose of the page well, “I have so much love and respect for you, I didn′t know what to do with it, so I sent you an anonymous compliment.”
While the concept of such a page is marvelous in itself, what really makes it shine are the compliments. They range from one calling all Rhodes students “wonderful, amazing human beings” to a compliment addressing “the boy who grabbed my phone last night” and thanking him for “making me feel like I’m not invisible.” Even for those not being complimented, seeing a compliment such as “You are the most fantastic combination of intelligence and creativity. You have made my life exponentially better just by knowing you” can bring a ray of sunshine into an otherwise gloomy winter day.
Rhodes Compliments surfaced during the perfect time: Finals Week. With the ever-present stresses of exams and research papers breathing down the necks of the student population, Rhodes Compliments provided a much needed source of hope and benevolence for exam-crazed students. Perhaps the most wonderful part of this page is that all of the compliments come from the students themselves. Rhodes Compliments simply provides a medium through which the inner compassion of the student body can spring forth.
Check out Rhodes Compliments for more.