Bants in Balance Spread Kindness With #BantamRocks

ERIN GANNON ’19
CONTRIBUTING WRITER 
Have you found a painted rock somewhere on campus with a positive message and the hashtag, #BantamRocks? If yes, then you have participated in the brand new #BantamRocks movement on campus!
The #BantamRocks movement is Trinity’s take on the Kindness Rocks Project, which is a worldwide movement in which people paint kind messages on rocks and leaving them in public places for others to find in the hopes of spreading unexpected moments of joy and kindness. The theory behind the movement is that seeing one positive message at the just the right time can change a person’s outlook on their whole day, or even their whole life.
Pamela Mulready, the Alcohol and Other Drugs Specialist in the Health Education Department, brought this movement to campus in early October. Bantams in Balance and Health Education have hosted multiple rock-painting events out on the Gates Quad in front of Mather, giving students the opportunity to directly participate in the movement.
The message that are written on these rocks are as simple as encouragements such as “Smile!” and “Be Kind!” and “Hope.” Images have also been painted on the rocks, ranging from smiling bantams to abstract designs. On most of the rocks, the hashtag #BantamRocks has been painted on the reverse side of the message or image. This is to bring awareness to the movement via a social media campaign.
Participating in the #BantamRocks project is simple – people can join the movement at any point in the process. Students have the option to paint a rock to be placed around campus either at one of the Bantams in Balance sponsored #BantamRocks events on the Gates Quad or on their own. Rocks painted at a sponsored event will be placed around campus by members of the Bantams in Balance and Health Education teams. Students who join by painting their own rocks are encouraged to hide them in safe places around campus.
If you discover a #BantamRock on campus, take a picture and post it to social media using the hashtag, or even upload it directly to the Bantams in Balance Facebook page. Make sure to say where you found it! You can then hide the rock again somewhere else on campus, or if it really speaks to you, keep it for inspiration. Make sure to be kind and thoughtful about where you are hiding the rocks so that everyone stays safe – for example, don’t put them in a place where someone might trip or where a lawnmower might drive over it.
The next #BantamRocks painting event will take place during common hour on Thursday, Oct. 18 on the Gates Quad. Make sure to like “Bantams in Balance” and “Trinity College Health Education” on Facebook and to follow @bantamsinbalance and @trinityhealthed on Instagram for updates on the #BantamRocks project and for information about more exciting wellness events to come!