In the fall semester of 2019, Aryan Mishra was just like any other incoming freshman, trying to figure out how he would make his mark on Indiana University the next four years. 

One day while sitting in Professor Rebecca Butorac’s class, he was inspired by a video she shared. 

It was a Ted Talk by Hannah Brencher, founder of More Love Letters. This organization sends handwritten letters around the globe in an attempt to spread positivity and restore the art of letter writing that technology has erased. 

Immediately, Mishra knew that his campus needed a club that did the same thing. Thus, Campus Cursive was born. 

“When you receive a handwritten letter it just feels a little more intimate and connected than just reading text on a paper,” Julian Spangler, Campus Cursive secretary said. 

When Mishra had the idea of starting this club, he had no idea that this organization would become vital in the coming years. 

The Covid-19 pandemic became notorious for isolating individuals and breeding mental health issues like anxiety and depression. In addition to spreading positivity, Campus Cursive hopes to combat these problems through building community on campus and in the city of Bloomington. 

“During times like this we really need to rely on one another and having that positivity and including everyone is really valuable,” Mishra said.

The student-led organization’s recent mission has been to acknowledge under-recognized groups such as residents of senior-living facilities, healthcare workers, bus drivers, and academic advisors. 

“There have been some groups and people who have gotten isolated over the past couple years. It’s nice to reach out to these people and let them know they are appreciated, and we’re here for them,” Spangler said. 

“We hope that we can brighten up their day a little bit and let them know they’re valued in our community,” Mishra added. 

 

Aunika Stallings is a new member to the club. She reflected on her first event with Campus Cursive writing letters to healthcare workers.

“It just makes me feel good to know that other people see what I write and know that they’re being thought about,” she said. “It’s the simplest way to connect with someone else. You get to compliment them. You get to acknowledge their work.”

Although Mishra enjoys writing to groups, he hopes to get recommendations of specific individuals that club members can write to. 

“The goal is to have that one person  receive hundreds of letters, so they can have a letter a day that they can go through, and over the course of months, they can feel appreciated,” Mishra said. 

This initiative is especially important on a campus, like IU, with well over 40,000 students. 

“The campus is huge. Having this organization on campus in the first place is great for… people to come together,” Spangler said. 

Members of Campus Cursive hope that their efforts will be contagious on campus. 

“I think it just so easy to compliment someone or to write a little note down and leave it somewhere, so I hope others see this and want to do it as well,” Stallings said. 

“Hopefully we can write to people, and they can write to other people and set off this chain reaction where… people are spreading positivity to everyone around campus,” Mishra said. 

To get involved with Campus Cursive, visit their page on beINvolved or drop your handwritten letter in their dropbox outside of Franklin Hall’s Room 006.