From 1:15 p.m to 2:45 p.m, students in the Donna and Walt Young Honors College (YHC) hosted presentations between the food court and coffee shop in the Oakland Center.

Students taking the HC 2060 course, the Art and Science of Happiness, gathered around a table in the Oakland Center to host live happiness chats. With dancing, upbeat music and cute posters, the YHC students drew in a crowd of students to discuss happiness with.

After visiting the table, students would be invited to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with a YHC student regarding happiness. The conversations were led by attendees, while the YHC students listened to the discussion. 

Attendees were met with a list of prompts to start a conversation with. The prompts were based off of chapters that were discussed in the YHC happiness class.

The prompts engaged with a variety of topics involving happiness, including a question about if healthy relationships require mutual effort. 

Freshman Sage Uhl appreciated the casual atmosphere of the happiness chats. 

“We just pull people in and ask them anything,” Uhl said. “It can be completely anonymous, you can tell us your name if you like.” 

Inspired by the Sidewalk Talk project, these happiness chats aimed to emphasize the importance of community support. 

Donna Voronovich, professor of HC 2060, prioritizes building connections between students through these chats. 

“The Sidewalk Talk is really about making interpersonal connections and getting people to sit one-on-one,” Voronovich. “In our case, the topic is happiness, which relates to the class, but it is also kinda building confidence with the students to sit and talk to one another, which is a skill we are starting to lose a little bit.” 

Voronovich hopes to bring positivity to campus in a busy time for students. 

“I know that it’s a stressful time going into finals, but we want to bring a little energy,” Voronovich said.

Freshman Genny Zielinski emphasized the importance of strengthening community connections. 

“It’s not as scary as you may think to come up to someone and have that connection,” Zielinski said. “You can build connections easier than you think.” 

Through the happiness chats, YHC students hope to build a community by providing students with an outlet to rant.

Senior Angelina McGuire realized the necessity of building a connected campus community and reflected on the importance of knowing available resources. The happiness class provided McGuire with insight that would have been valuable as a freshman. 

“I’m a senior right now, and knowing that there’s something like this if I was a freshman coming in, feeling that there’s somebody I could go up to and tell about my day, what’s bothering me, or what my future goals are and how to be happier is important to me,” McGuire said.

Even through difficult times, Voronovich reminds the Oakland University community to consistently search for happiness. 

“Everybody is, you know, entitled to have happiness in their life, but don’t think about it as a destination you have to get to,” Voronovich said. “Just look for little moments of happiness in your life every day, and if you search you will be able to find them.”