According to psychology research out of SFU and UBC, random acts of kindness can be used to alleviate some of the symptoms of social anxiety.

Jennifer Trew, a postdoctoral research fellow at SFU who conducted the study, sees social anxiety as “the fear of social situations where you may be judged or negatively evaluated by other people.”

She elaborated, “This can include social interactions, and can also include performance situations, like giving a presentation or speech in front of people. This can lead to a lot of anxiety for some people, as well as avoidance of these types of situations.”

The study measured the effect of performing random acts of kindness on people with social anxiety. Some of the participants engaged in the acts of kindness, some were engaged in social interactions that they would usually avoid, and then third control group were participants who wrote down what was going on during their day.

Participants were not limited to any specific act of kindness. However, they were given a list of examples they could use, and many different kinds of acts ended with the same positive result. These ranged from something as simple as opening a door for a stranger to interacting with someone online or in person. Trew asked them to “go do things that would help other people out or make other people happy,” and let them interpret that however they chose.

In the end, though the results were as she expected, Trew found them impressive. What the study found was that the participants who performed the acts of kindness reported less avoidance of social situations in relation to the other groups.

Being kind helped them stave off negative expectations associated with those situations. They weren’t as focused on avoiding things that might make people look at them negatively, meaning they had decreased levels of social anxiety.

Trew concluded, “It helps to reduce their levels of social anxiety and, in turn, makes them less likely to want to avoid social situations and negative social outcomes such as embarrassment.”

The third annual Fall Kickoff concert will be taking on a new spin this year.

Put on by the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS), the event will be a part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, with a day-long festival experience on Friday, September 25.

The budget for the Fall Kickoff was recently revised to a smaller scale. SFSS business representative and Fall Kickoff director of finance Hangue Kim explained, “What we’re basically [doing] is under-promising, but over-delivering.”

Kim also added that they are only anticipating 1,300 to 1,500 students to attend this concert, whereas the expected number of attendees for previous Fall Kickoffs was between 1,800 to 2,200. This was done with the understanding that the previous Fall concerts garnered around 1,650 and 1,800 attendees.

The current revenue expected for the Fall Kickoff is $60,250, with $58,000 in expenses, anticipating a $2,250 gain.

The SFSS has budgeted $25,000 in sponsorship, of which at least $10,000 has been committed by SFU’s 50th anniversary project.

The final expenses for the Spring Jam 2015 totaled $80,295, and with a revenue of only $23,564, the SFSS incurred a loss of $56,731. In their projections for the event, they only expected a deficit of $12,000.

The Spring Jam was likely less successful due to competing events on the same night. “What we’ve learned, especially from this past Spring [Jam] was that [. . .] the timing of it has to be very specific,” explained Sharma.

Concerts in the past have typically run from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. By starting earlier, organizers hope to create a “community experience,” engaging a wider audience and variety of students.

“One of our biggest priorities come September is going to be student engagement,” said VP Student Life and Fall Kickoff project lead, Deepak Sharma. The SFSS plans to use the event as a means to inform students of the various services they offer.

During the day, there will be various activities in effort to create a festival vibe in Convocation Mall, and in the evening it will transition into a music event. The performing artists are currently being determined, and will be announced during the Week of Welcome.

The SFSS identified two main focuses for this concert: celebration and retention. The celebrate aspect encompasses celebrating the 50th anniversary, while fostering a festive atmosphere to engage the community.

The goal of retention refers to acknowledging and retaining the support of the volunteers. “We have about 110 to 120 volunteers working and volunteering for the event,” said Sharma, “and what we want to ensure is that these students are always [appreciated].”

The collaboration with SFU’s 50th anniversary project will include communication and advertising of the Fall Kickoff alongside the rest of the campaign.

They will also look into making involvement in the event a credited volunteer experience through SFU’s myInvolvement program.

Another change in this year’s concert planning is a shift towards outsourcing management positions, which were previously held by SFSS board members, to student volunteers in order to allow the board members and staff to focus on bigger priorities.

Kim explained, “We’re planning on making it more efficient and effective this year, and that’s what we’ve been working on internally as an organization.”