Alison Perelman, Assistant Culture Editor
Wind blew, making the air chilly, the sky was already beginning to fade and not many students were still walking the sidewalks. But despite all of this, Emma Shibley stood where she had been all day, on the corner of Maple and Spring Street with a smile on her face.
She stood next to a sign that read "FREE HUGS" in blue and red dry-erase markers and offered one to anyone passing by.
Around 11:15, as she was leaving her 10 a.m. class, she had decided that if no one was at the corner, she would go there. So she grabbed two bright blue chairs and the whiteboard from her room, skipped class and set up camp.
"I felt like it was the wrong use of my time to be in class today," Emma said. "I need a hug. I figured a lot of the people here need a hug."
Emma had woken up that morning feeling sick and wanting to cry but decided to do something more than just hide anxiously in her room.
"I wish I had done it this morning 'cause I feel like the morning was even harder than the afternoon," Emma said. "Like, the sun came out and our lives continued, so hopefully the afternoon was a lot less scary for people. But I think this morning there was just so much weight on people's shoulders."
Kevin Vestal joined her, along with other friends throughout the day. Hanna Hall brought her a cup of tea to keep warm. Ten minutes after saying 'maybe' to a hug, a girl even came back to apologize and bring Austin Lamewona a cookie.
"I was having such a bad day before this, and giving somebody a hug, something as simple as that, made me feel a lot better," Austin said. "And I'll be damned if I wouldn't do that for other people too."
Most people were weary at first, but then admitted they could use a hug and accepted the embrace. Two people stepped off their bikes, and Kevin reached out for one going by. One man walked a few steps before changing his mind. Emma even had two people start to cry on her shoulder.
"It's felt really good to be, like, I am, number one, giving people a chance to feel their feelings, and it also has given me a lot of hope," Emma said. "We just thought that we needed something. In five years, it won't matter if I skipped two classes. I'll be able to be like, 'I helped people who just needed a moment of humanity.'"
They got some laughs and a few weird looks, and many asked what it was for.
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Kevin: "We just say, a lot of people seem gloomy today..."
Emma: "Like they need a hug today. We want to put love into the world, put smiles in the world. Austin was like, 'Hope is so important.'"
Kevin: "Just 'cause."
Emma: "We just want to spread some smiles today."
Austin: "And 'cause I need a hug."
Emma was always excited when someone agreed to a hug, and no matter if they did or not, she would call cheerily, "Have a good day!"
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