Campaign for Kindness: Campus Reads has begun. This year, the book chosen was “The War of Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World” by Jamil Zaki, hoping to connect and build empathy between students on campus.

“Faculty and staff submitted their favorite books over the summer. The list was narrowed down to 10, and students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to vote. The War of Kindness is the one that came out on top,” stated Associate Provost for Faculty, Karin Keith.

Photo of Karin Keith (Contributed/ETSU)

“The War of Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World,” is about the different levels of compassion and empathy and how it can be used to help each other in this divided world.

The readings and discussions for this book started on Jan. 23, which holds two meetings a week to discuss each chapter. Keith shares that a challenge that she’s faced is a lack of participation and trouble gathering students.

“Participation has not been what we really wanted it to be, however during the Festival of Ideas, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, we’re having a book panel discussion. You aren’t required to have read the book to come and discuss on this day,” stated Keith.

From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be a review of the book alongside living room discussions that will cover the topic of kindness, which is a great way to educate people and increase participation. There will also be students and faculty speaking about what kindness and empathy mean to them and how they show and express it.

As Campus Reads continues, the overall goal is to get students involved with the book and share their experiences with kindness. There are posters on campus that ask students how are they giving or receiving kindness, which then allows students to write down their thoughts and relate to other people.

“One of the things Zaki stresses in the book is that sometimes when you are really deeply in the throes of sharing empathy with another, it can exhaust you. So it is important to engage not only in giving kindness to others but also to show kindness to yourself,” stated Keith.

The end goal of this book is to help students understand how to listen and engage with others in empathy and compassion. Ensuring that people are making efforts to make people feel welcome and warm here on campus.

Moving forward, Keith, the faculty and the students have discussed plans for next year and different books that could be chosen. Keith hopes to keep in theme with kindness and compassion, but plans are in the works for next year’s Campus Reads.

“I would hope that students, faculty and staff feel that this is a campus where people are kind to each other. I  think this book inspires people to think about other people’s perspectives and how can I be more kind and reach out and just be present, which is important because sometimes people just need you to listen,” said Keith.

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