or another, “I know how you’re feeling.” And despite the sincerity that comment might hold, it isn’t always true.
In Nov. 2010, Capital University President Denvy Bowman, PhD. embarked on a project to discover whether people could truly understand how someone else is feeling; if empathy could be taught. This project, the Empathy Experiment, selects a small group of students and takes them through various experiences to see how they change. Dr. Bowman hosted an evening of discussion and reflection Wednesday.
Jeff Hogan of 10TV news was the MC for the evening.
“Could walking a mile in someone else’s shoes really change your perspective?” asked the narrator of the evening’s opening video.
This year’s experiment focused on the state of nutrition in America. Nine students were selected to participate: freshmen Nathan Bell, Brandon Juarez, Bridget Miller, Carolyn Newberry, and Kaylin VanBuskirk, junior Mark Mullen, and seniors Alex Broshious, Ella Douglass and Jessica Stoltz.
After Dr. Bowman’s introduction, Capital University Trustee Ronald St. Pierre, Ph.D., recognized the partners of this year’s project. He spoke to the uniqueness of the Empathy Experiment, particularly this year’s subject and how it studied empathy from a “new angle, which is: can we empathize with someone we disagree with?”
Students were divided up into teams of three, each group with a different partner. The three partners were: Columbus City Schools, Whole Foods Market, and Columbus Public Health. St. Pierre discussed the challenges that awaited the students at the start of the project.
With over forty years of experience in medicine and public health, it was no surprise that St. Pierre played a significant role in this year’s project.
Gene T. Harris, Ph.D., is the Superintendent and CEO of the Columbus City Schools. In her school district, 50,000 students spread across 118 schools are counting on her and her staff to provide not only a worthy education but also healthy meals at breakfast and lunchtime.
“When students eat a well-balanced meal, they do better in school,” Harris said. She went on to say, “There is a direct correlation to health and the ability to learn.” As part of her district’s commitment to combating malnutrition, the entire district eliminated soda from all vending machines, now only offering water.
Broshious discussed one of his experiences in Columbus City Schools and how it opened his eyes to the growing problem of malnutrition. He described, after a weekend of eating very little, he was in line for lunch with some of the children and saw one steal a sandwich.
He considered alerting an adult, but then realized that that sandwich might be all the child had to eat at some later point.
As a concluding statement for her portion of the evening, Dr. Harris expressed her optimism for the future.
“We’re in a good place, we’re going to need to go farther,” Harris said.
Whole Foods Market was the corporate partner for the Empathy Experiment. Led by Tiffany Smith, marketing team leader at Whole Foods, Douglass, Mullen, and Newberry traveled to various locations for their experiences.
Mullen expressed his awareness of how America has seen a decline in the value of how we eat. He went on to say how seeing people in the local food industry inspired him.
“Just to see that passion…makes me feel like we can spread it,” Mullen said.
Many of the activities set up for the participants had significant impact on the students’ perspectives. Miller relayed her experience of going to apply for WIC.
She described how difficult it was to not just apply for the program, but also to get to the office on public transportation.
“What if I was a mother?” Miller said.
The program ended with a question and answer session followed by a reception outside with food, drinks, and live music.
Overall, the participants expressed their appreciation for being able to participate in the program. Dr. Bowman noted that though the program was over for the semester, the perspectives gained should not go to waste.
