The Empathy Police project is a is a nonprofit, social outreach program, designed to make students aware of their surroundings, by playfully investigating what it truly means to be “present” in the digital age. Our Empathy Police officers will be patrolling on foot, pulling over potential “violators” who are using their mobile devices in a way that is unsafe, offensive, and/or isolating. All of ou
r officers have been trained extensively in the ways of kindness, understanding, sensitivity, and whimsy, ensuring that what could be seen as a potentially awkward situation instead leads to laughter, thoughtfulness, and above all, an engaging discourse amongst students. The Empathy Police will be handing out “tickets” in the form of beautiful, unique screen-printed
designs, made possible by your own peers in the College of Fine Arts. The “fine” for receiving such a ticket will be a “Pay it Forward” approach, meaning that you get to pull over another student who is violating one of the criteria we deem to be insensitive, including “Screen Face,” (for when a group of two or more are buried in their smartphones instead of talking to one another), “Texting and Walking.” (for when one is clearly not aware of his or her surroundings due to excessive cellular engagement), and “Just Plain Rude” (a more open-ended violation that can range anywhere from a fellow student using his or her phone for the entirety of class, to a more personal offense, like when you are having an important conversation with a friend and he or she interrupts you mid-sentence to check their phone, completely ignoring you). Take just five minutes to stop “Yaking,” “Whispering,”
“Tweeting,” “Facebooking,” or “Instagramming,” (unless, of course, you are trying to spread the
word about this altruistic initiative!) and give someone the sweetest gift of all—your full, undivided attention. Help the Empathy Police and let the Empathy Police help you. Together, we can all put our screens down for a few moments to foster real human connection with those around us. Interested in volunteering or contributing to the cause? Email us at [email protected]
or check out our Instagram page , where you can see/provide pictures of people getting ticketed. We look forward to hearing from you!
