Longwood's first I Believe in Tradition video, where students, faculty, and staff will share their memories of the many diverse celebrations of the winter season, will take place on Wed. Dec. 1 at 5 and 6 p.m. in the Blackwell Foyer. The video will be shown twice to accommodate faculty who are leaving and then students right before they go about their evening activities. The event is put on by a number of groups, including the student engagement team, formerly known as the student leadership team, a group of students, faculty and staff that focus on engaging the campus.
Larry Robertson, chair of the student engagement team, associate dean of students and executive director for Residential and Commuter Life, said there has been a noticeable "dwindling attendance" in the Festival of Lights program held in the past. He described the event as a different type of educational presentation. "The hope is for this to bring students and faculty together to talk about what is important to them during the holiday season," Robertson said.
The video is slated to last around 30 minutes, according to early estimates, and will touch on different holiday traditions among the Longwood community. "It's something interactive," said Robertson. He hopes to have features such as a board for people to write their own beliefs on at the event.
Featured in the video will be faculty members Dr. Ramesh Rao, professor and chair of the Department of Communication Studies & Theatre; Dr. Melanie Marks, professor of economics; Dr. Carl Riden, assistant professor of sociology; and Dr. Tim Pierson, vice president for student affairs, among others. Additional staff and students will be featured in the 25 to 30-person video as well.
President Patrick Finnegan will be in the introduction of the video as well as in attendance at the event. The evening will be more of an "open house" format instead of a lecture format, explained Robertson. "This has been in the back of my head since August," he added. However, work only began in October.
Last year, the annual "Festival of Lights: Exploring the Diversity of Holidays and Holy Days during the Season" program was held on campus and featured a panel to discuss pluralism and celebration of faith. Panel members included Rao, Riden, Rev. Sylvia Meadows, pastor of Farmville United Methodist Church; and Dr. Neal Holmes, director of the Call Me MISTER program. They discussed holidays and holy days and the commonalities between the two.
Robertson said the group has worked closely with Ione McKenzie, associate dean for student affairs, and Administrative & Office Specialist in Multicultural Affairs and International Student Services Denise Harris as well. Walls McKay, Lea Mullins, Jennifer Huddleston, and Diane Easter have all helped out as well, he added. "They're a good group to work with."
Robertson said the team chose the foyer area so the event could be near the holiday tree. He said this allows everyone to recognize the Rotunda as a very important part of the university's history. "I'm really interested to see how they all come together," Robertson said when talking about the interviews in the video. He called it "engaging."
Josh Blakely, who is the area coordinator for west campus and is assisting in the video portion of the event, said the purpose of the celebration is to "get all sorts of perspectives." Such perspectives include talking to people from Jewish, Atheist, and Pagan beliefs. "We're talking with a wide range of people about their rations around the holiday," he said. Blakely said he and Andrew Young, official university videographer and multimedia specialist, have been interviewing faculty, staff and students about their holiday traditions. Blakely said he mainly does the transcribing for the video and hopes to do some editing along with Young.
"Diversity is one of these topics that everyone is concerned about but everyone is scared to talk about," said Blakely. The event is the latest in a year full of happenings that continue the theme of this year's First-Year Reading Experience titled, "This I Believe II: More Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women." This international project engages people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives.
"I think it's really important to recognize diverse perspectives," said Blakely. "Sometimes, understanding diversity is understood by the diversity that's already around us."
He said that Pierson told members of the RCL staff during a recent meeting, "When we start to know each other. that's when people start to open up.""In a culture where we are constantly bombarded with the negative, when people assert their belief, it's powerful," said Blakely. "Each of us is a unique individual and each of us has a core belief.
