More often than not the big talk that transpires on the Internet will never come to fruition, and will instead remain as words on a webpage. However, on Friday February 1, over 50 students took their Facebook-organized act of goodwill into reality and gathered at the Dunkin Donuts location on Rt. 25A on to pay their respects and to honor Zamir, a longtime employee known by students for his kindness and generosity.
The event, organized by Daniel Ahmadizadeh, the man behind the extremely popular Stony Brook Compliments Facebook page, and started as a simple gesture of having people give their kind words for Zamir, which would then be written on cards and presented to him on the first night of February. “Zamir is a man who truly epitomizes kindness” Ahmadizadeh said in the video of the event endorsed by Stony Brook Compliments.
Within days, a flood of comments filled the event’s Facebook page. Among the dozens of messages for Zamir, Stony Brook University student Nafees Salim wrote “Every time you [Zamir] see me, you greet me with a nice smile and ask me how am I doing. You’re the one who’s exhausted and tired. I am supposed to ask you that question. How come you always beat me? May God bless you for your kindness and humbleness. You teach me how to be a true human.” Salim was also present with another half dozen students for the signing of the cards, in which he wrote several cards in Zamir’s native tongue of Bengali. Eventually, the event grew to include signs proclaiming “Stony Brook Runs on Zamir,” and several hundred dollars in gift cards.
At approximately 10:30 PM on the night of February 1, the 50+ students put their plan into action and gathered at the Stony Brook train station. There, they distributed the thank you cards amongst themselves and made their way to the Dunkin Donuts with the help of RSP and University Police, who stopped traffic so the group can safely get to their destination and present Zamir with their gifts. Upon the receiving said gifts and realizing what was going on, Zamir appeared overwhelmed, telling the crowd that they love him too much, posing for pictures, and expressing his gratitude to the packed store.
In the days following, the gesture of kindness organized by Ahmadizadeh and Stony Brook Compliments was presented on a national scale, being featured on NBC News and promoted on the official Facebook Page of Dunkin’ Donuts.
