An oversized card from last semester still hangs on the wall at the Office of Campus Safety. It’s filled with words of gratitude and encouragement from dozens of students:
Thank you for making us feel safe!
Thank you for your sleepless nights. You’re all the best.
Thank you for helping me every time I’ve lost my keys.
Todd Bell, assistant director of campus safety, who accepted the card from Student Council representatives as part of its LOVE project, was touched by the gesture.
“We appreciate them reaching out and letting us know how valuable we are to the campus,” he said. “There’s a lot of signatures in there and very kind messaging.”
This Valentine’s Day, Bell and other staff at offices around campus can expect another dose of love — and a few other treats — from Student Council as part of the initiative.
“We want to use this opportunity, when there's hopefully more love being spread, to make sure that these departments who do so much for students know that we are grateful for them,” said Student Council President Marissa Sun ’25.
Student Council officials spent days tabling in Peirce Hall to collect handwritten messages, and they will be making their deliveries today to the maintenance department; Library and Information Services; AVI Fresh at Kenyon, and the Office of Campus Safety.
“These are all departments on campus that interact very frequently with students and help us with our basic needs and safety,” Sun said. “It's hopefully a boost to morale just to know that students do appreciate what they've been doing.”
The LOVE project was started by Ubongabasi Asuquo ’23, who previously served as Student Council president, as a way to spread gratitude.
Peter Haywood ’26, director of operations for Student Council, said the effort has turned into a great way both to give thanks and elevate student voices.
“The idea was to celebrate all the great work that all of our departments do on campus,” he said. “We wanted to give students the opportunity — since we are the voice of students — to write notes and to express their gratitude.”
He helped deliver the cards last semester around Thanksgiving and will be busy again today.
“Getting to see the look on their faces when we just randomly showed up on a cold day with [doughnut holes] and a card, it was really great,” he said of last semester’s reception from staff. “Often we’d stand around and chat for a few minutes and get to talk about things.”