A Note on Empathy & Happiness

On May 24th 2022 current student senate president Mujtaba Hassan in reaction to his honor board hearing later that day sent out a mass email to the entire student distribution list titled "A Note on Empathy & Happiness". It is theorized that this combined with the Dan Briggs fake flunk day email is the reason students no longer have access to the Knox Distribution list.

The following is the transcript of the email:

Fellow Trailblazers,

Many of you already know me, I am the current President of the Student Senate. This will be my farewell address to all of you wonderful individuals who challenged us to excel above and beyond this year as we started to recreate a Knox pre-COVID. In doing so, we realized that still living through COVID makes that kind of tough.

We had our successes, such as dining improvements, Taylor Lounge improvements, accessibility improvements within Senate, and Midnight Breakfast as a category on its own. We had our failures, such as not casting a wider net around accessibility concerns, and not being able to reach as many of you as we thought we could. Holistically, we strived to do better this year. We took many conversations out of the abstract and implemented concrete steps to improve on or implement your suggestions. But there are many conversations yet to be had, and steps yet to be taken.

Now I turn toward you as peers and thought leaders. This has been a year of challenges. It has been a year of tremendous loss for many. It has been a year of extreme change. We started a blank slate with a brand new President and Vice President who have a vision for our college. In conversations with Dr. Barker and President McGadney, and in initiatives they’ve taken this year, I see, hear, and feel a love for Knox.

When I came to Knox 4 years ago, I too fell in love with Knox. It was and always will be my safe space, my home, my escape. Back then, I thought everyone felt the same. I lacked empathy. It took me 4 years, several personal losses and health issues, and many leadership opportunities on campus to realize that I was stuck in a sort of echo chamber. As I talked to my friends, and others on campus, and started gathering a sense of just how diverse and varied our voices are; I fell in love with Knox even more. I come from Pakistan, where debate is not dead, where challenges are not seen as insults, and personal slights only reduce your worth in others’ eyes. In many ways, Knox is like Pakistan for me. A better Pakistan than Pakistan could be to a member of an actively oppressed religious minority like myself.

Empathy is the word of the day. Acknowledging that your fellow human being on this campus, be it faculty, staff, or student, is going through a lot right now. Acknowledging that just like you, those who are creating an experience for you are also as fatigued, confused, and uncertain, but still trying their best. Or just acknowledging that your best friend not smiling as much speaks more volumes than any amount of emails you can receive about it. Whatever way you internalize it, we are all in this together.

Imagine a Knox where students, faculty, and staff join to create the ultimate Human Powered Experience, not unlike the one my fellow Seniors remember. Now imagine where you could fit in. Imagine how happy you could be if you were a part of this age-old system, calling out injustices and flaws where you saw them, taking positive action where you could, and then graduating knowing you will make a difference in the world because you started at Knox. At the end of the day, despite any and all titles and positions I may have held this year, I'm just a student who tried to do my part.

I bring up empathy only because it is one of the founding principles of the Liberal Arts experience at Knox. You see it in the Knox 5, you see it in the friendly faces among faculty & staff, and you see it in pop-up ice cream events and oxygen bars at Old Main. This is Knox. We are Knox.

This is not a call to action by any means unless you want it to be. I hope next year we are all able to do our part instead of feeling like foregoing our institution’s founding principles of empathy and hope for a better tomorrow. I hope we are able to fully celebrate the diversity of thought and opinion that makes us who we are. I hope we can grow from our experiences this year and affect much needed change for others around us next year and beyond. I hope someday more students can view this institution as the safe space I know it to be. I hope you are able to be the reason for someone’s smile and breath of relief, it is a wonderful feeling.

I would like to conclude by sharing an excerpt from the letter I wrote to my graduated self as a first-year during international orientation.

“If all that you have in life is happiness, then you are rich.

Happiness is the ultimate currency.”

I hope I was able to help you in some small capacity over my time at Knox, and I appreciate the grace you have given those of us on the Senate this year. As the first Senate President returning to Senate (as a General Member this time) in recent history, I do not know whether this is a farewell. Perhaps it is a second hello. All I know is that my work is not done and that I will always be here to help. As you find your happiness, stay tuned for more helpful initiatives coming from President Eeman Mahar’s Senate next year.

Student Senate President 2021-2022 signing off.

Veritas,

Mujtaba Hassan -- Mujtaba Hassan '22 B.S. Computer Science | B.A. Business & Management Student Senate President He/Him/His

(editors note all bolded lines appear exactly as they do in the email, no changes have been made)