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The Rotunda
Monday, February 24, 2025

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

We are approaching the end of October: the leaves are turning and so is the atmosphere. Sweaters and boots are coming out of bottom drawers and being pulled over our tan lines.

For a small liberal arts college, this signals the return of Thanksgiving break, a week to turn in final projects, fill out scantrons and finish an essay on what we can barely remember about that dude named Hemingway who wrote “manly” stories, whatever that means.

But that’s just the academics, don’t forget what we are coming to university for in the first place. We’d be naïve if we believed that to be all that there is to college life. Longwood has been rich with life in every building and in town.

Two weekends ago, from Oct. 10-11, the Inaugural Virginia Children’s Book Festival featured Judy and Lawrence Blume and a few other prominent children’s literature authors. The Edgar Allan Poe Museum had even sent their own delegate to offer the children and all other attendees at this free festival different thrills at the tech theatre in Bedford.

All day last Friday on Oct. 17, Dr. Shawn Smith of the Department of English and Modern Languages moved their marathon reading of Milton’s “Paradise Lost” out onto Grainger lawn.

Last Saturday, Longwood Women’s Soccer and ROTC helped the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program put on yet another Wounded Warrior 5K, taking place on the High Bridge Trail.

This is not all that had occurred in university programming during these weeks though, just what this writer was invited to on Facebook. At any given time here at Longwood and in Farmville, more goes on than any one student could ever keep up with.

This week in itself is the perfect example: The Delta Zeta sisters and Phi Mu Delta brothers are hosting “I Have a Choice” week for alcohol awareness. As always, there are too many spirit nights to count such as Relay for Life’s at Sweet Frog, Delta Zeta’s at Chik- fil-A, and another at Uptown Coffee for volunteers going to Haiti – all on just Tuesday night. Those on other nights of the week not even considered.

Halloween season is also coming upon us: Longwood Campus Recreation and Lancer Production are putting on Late Night Halloween on Thursday night – the same time as at least two Greek organization’s initiation rituals. Friday, though, belongs to the Student Nurse’s Association’s Haunted Hospital – and another open mic event at The Bakery as well as more than one student art exhibitions opening in Bedford.

Looking at the university’s “comprehensive” calendar of events: It’s on one hand strange that not all of these events are listed but one might also ask why RAVE’s “I Won’t Stand For Alcohol Misuse” campaign this week was not done in conjunction with the aforementioned I Have a Choice week for the same cause?

Not to beat a dead horse – but even Elwood’s hooves can’t gallop across Brock Commons to high five Lancers at all these events. Much less your average Lancer who’s reminded every day of their commitment to be citizen leaders, to become what would seem to be an academically driven professional with pragmatic skill sets. Even if this abundance of programming proactively initiated by students, faculty and staff exemplify what is exception in Longwood’s ideal of a community of citizen leaders.

This writer cannot – and does not – claim to know the fine workings of university programming. However, the trend seems evident: is Longwood allowing for too many activities? Are we using our resources effectively when programs are allowed to overlap so? Are there better ways for student organizations to communicate and corroborate through, perhaps, some centralized planning agency?