Kara Doane Contributing Writer
A new UMF compliments profile on Instagram allows students submit compliments for students and faculty around campus, subject to the approval of the account creator, who is currently remaining anonymous.
Through a direct message interview, the creator of the account said, “ I want to remain anonymous, because I don’t want people to praise me for making this account. I just want people to be happy.” The profile typically gets three to five submissions a day, where sometimes people will submit two or three compliments about their friends.
The first post made by the account is from March 28, reading, “Made this account to compliment people around campus! DM me your submissions and I will post them anonymously!” Since this post, there have been 79 positive posts about members of the community.
The account user has been listening to the buzz around campus about their endeavors.“I’ve heard people talking about my account around campus and that it makes them really happy to see all of the posts. My hope is that this account will spread more positivity around campus.” As many hold preconceived judgments of others, this account can help them see the good side in people, especially those who they wouldn’t normally get along with. “I have seen such a wide range of people being complemented which is really awesome,” said UMF Compliments.
The most liked and commented post on the page features junior Norma Williams, posted on April 2nd: “Norma Williams is more than what is talked about. She is a caring individual with a lot to give and people don’t recognize that enough. She’s faced things no one should have to and for that she is strong.” This post had 52 likes and 7 comments.
Williams said this post “was sad but true, it was nice to see that people know what I’ve been through.”
Posted on April 9th was a compliment for CA Crystal Macomber, “Crystal is such an amazing person. She always makes people smile! She’s a great friend and an amazing CA and I’m so proud of everything she’s doing!” Macomber texted friends to see who had submitted the compliment about her. All who responded denied having sent it in. “It feels really good that someone is noticing all the hard work that I am doing,” said Macomber. “Especially because one of my best friends didn’t submit the compliment.”
Faculty may also be featured on the page. Assistant Director of Upward Bound, Elyse Pratt-Ronco’s post on the page has the caption, “Elyse has done so much for me while I’ve been here at UMF, the grief group has saved me.”
While the UMF Compliments account want to be kept anonymous, close friends of the individual are aware of their identity as the account user. Those few people are asked to keep the identity under wraps.
Anyone who wants to submit a compliment can DM @umfcompliments on Instagram. Make sure to follow the profile to keep up on the positivity around campus.