Longwood University is known for a lot of things: It's one of the oldest colleges in the country, and it boasts a lot of great things from its patron saint, Joan of Arc, and the Rotunda of Ruffner to its beloved "That's What She Said" T-shirts. But if all goes according to plan, Longwood will take its rank in the Guinness Book of World Records as the creator of the world's largest papier-mƒché sculpture.
The sculpture is the campus-wide program held by the Cox-Wheeler RCL staff, and is currently being constructed in the Lankford Student Union Ballroom. The proposed dimensions of the sphere, which will be decorated as a beach ball to celebrate the end of the semester and the beginning of summer break, are 10-foot by 10-foot.
The previous record is held by Salem Lutheran School in Orange County, California. This sculpture was also spherical and was decorated as a globe. It was 7.5 feet tall and 28 feet around.
The idea for this record breaking endeavor came about at a meeting of the Cox-Wheeler Resident Assistant (RA) staff. According to Wheeler RA, Nick Kirkbride, they wanted to do something that was unique from the other campus-wide events that was not a party or get together. The idea of breaking a world record was a bit of a joke at first, but once some of the staff members researched the idea, they thought that they could make this seemingly far-fetched idea into a reality.
The purpose of the record attempt is to bring the Longwood community together, and to make something tangible out of all the hard work that students have put in this semester literally, since much of the ball is comprised of actual assignments and notes.
Students have been coming in and out of the Ballroom all day, in some cases staying for hours on end to contribute to the completion of the project. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, nearly 350 different students had taken part in this world record attempt. "Participation has been huge," said West Campus Area Coordinator Josh Blakely and major proponent of the project on Monday.
The ball has inspired many students to contribute very unique materials to its construction. There is a station in the ballroom where students can write special notes and "This I Believe" statements to attach. There were all sorts of interesting notes on the ball, which ranged from "P Finn will you marry me?" to "I believe in white and bLUe."
Aside from the typical newspapers, which were donated in massive quantities, and the notes, students contributed old papers, class syllabi, letters, and all sorts of paper mementos. One girl brought a collection of Sunday comics, others brought flyers from their favorite organizations, old letters, or handouts from classes. There were even Chi droppings attached.
Of course, most of the ball is made up of newspaper, much of which was donated by Modern Woodmen of America, a financial group that co-sponsored the event. Enormous cardboard boxes of paper grace the front steps of Lankford for the sculpture.
There have been a few roadblocks facing the ball's construction. "We've encountered quite a few problems, like that," said Blakely, pointing to a ripped section on the bottom of the ball, which was being supported by traffic cones to keep it from rolling away.
When simply pasting sheets of paper to the ball wasn't enough, someone had the idea to wad up the paper, forming tubes, and using them to increase the size of the ball more quickly. Students worked together to make this happen, breaking up into teams to construct the tubes while others worked to strengthen the base of the sculpture.
Because of its impressive size, no one will be able to remove the entire ball from the Ballroom. It wouldn't fit through the doors. After the sculpture is completed, the plan is to cut it up into small pieces so everyone can keep a part of history.
At this point, it is not possible to say for sure that Longwood will go down in papier-mƒché history, but with the continued outpouring of support from the students and faculty, this ball is well on its way to completion. There could be some problems that arise when the internal support structure, a giant beach ball, is deflated. Unfortunately, there is the slight possibility that the sculpture will somehow not meet the world record requirements. As of Tuesday night, the ball was one foot short of the necessary diameter, and those involved were very strongly encouraging people to participate so the goal could be reached.
Kirkbride and Blakely both explained that they might extend the process a day or so to ensure that the record is broken. "It's a work in progress," said Blakely.
Even if the giant paper masterpiece doesn't grace the pages of a world record history, this enormous ball has brought the Longwood community closer together, and will be talked about for years to come.
