By: Heather Waldo
For many students, professors and faculty, fall 2020 will go down in history as being one of the most challenging and strangest semesters yet. Many students are feeling the weight of this semester and are in need of a pick-me-up. That is exactly what Lambda Pi Eta accomplished during their COMMunity Open Lawn event on October 28 on Lankford Mall.
Lambda Pi Eta is the official honor society of the National Communication Association (NCA). The Nu Epsilon chapter of Lambda Pi Eta at Longwood University began in 2008. According to the NCA, there are over 500 chapters nationwide. Lambda Pi Eta stands for logos, pathos and ethos: logic, emotion and ethics/credibility. The goals of the organization are to recognize outstanding scholastic achievement in the communication field, promote both professional and academic development, encourage students to have positive mentor relationships with faculty and other students and to stimulate interest in Communication Studies.
When asked about this organization, President Allison Turner (’21) said, “One of our six goals is to establish and foster relations amongst the students and department, and that is what we are doing not only through this event, but also on a day-to-day basis. We also recognize scholastic achievement, and we do that through our Student of the Month event, put on by our Vice President, Caitlin Sullivan.”
Turner also mentioned that this event had many benefits for current as well as prospective members. “Our initiation was virtual in the spring, so the members that joined in the spring (a majority of the group) have not been recognized publicly yet. We wanted to invite the Communication Studies department and were then asked to collaborate with the department to create this event. The goal behind it is to recognize the new members of Lambda Pi Eta, but also bring the Communication Studies department together for the first time this semester.”
Cade Kinzel (’21) and Brookelyn Parker (’21), both seniors and Digital Media concentrations, came to the event to receive their Lambda Pi Eta certificates and pins. They were inducted into the organization last spring and were excited to see other members as well as other fellow COMMunity members. Kinzel said, “I really wanted to attend this event because we haven’t really gotten that in person connection with the members of Lambda Pi Eta, this was my first opportunity to do that.”
This event was about welcoming new Communication Studies majors and to formally initiate new Lambda Pi Eta members into the organization. When asked what her favorite part of the event was Brookelyn Parker (’21) said, “I think the quiz was really fun because you got to learn more about people in Lambda Pi Eta, the COMMunity and the professors.” The quiz was about all things within the COMMunity. It had questions about many topics, from organizations, professors and even students. The winner of the quiz also received a $25 gift card.
Along with current Communication Studies majors there were also prospective ones. Brittany Washington (’23) a Computer Science major attended the event to learn more about the department because she is considering adding it as a minor. Brittany mentioned she is already familiar with some of the software that is used within the major. She attended to learn new things and to help her make her final decision whether to add the minor or not. Washington said, “I hope to learn more about Communication Studies and speak to some of the professors and learn about the organizations/clubs I could join.”
Another person attended the event to learn more about Communication Studies. “My friend is a Communication Studies major and she talks about it all of the time and since I’m undeclared I felt I like I need to get out there and learn about different majors.” This event provided this student an opportunity to talk representatives of Communication Studies clubs, current Communication Studies majors as well as other prospective students. This student said she enjoyed being able to talk other students within the major by saying, “My favorite part of this event is definitely interacting with the other Communication Studies students because you get to learn the most from talking to other people.” Overall this student was glad she attended the event and got the opportunity to learn more about Communication Studies.
Lambda Pi Eta’s event was definitely a success. When asked what the purpose of the event was, Dr. Kris Paal said, “This event is intended to provide just a little opportunity to accomplish both bringing together students and celebrating some of the academic success of our newest members of LPH. 2020 has been a rough year for everyone, and it certainly has made it difficult for our COMMunity to feel like a community. The purpose of the COMMunity Open Lawn is rooted in LPH’s desire to hold some sort of gathering for members and other students to connect. Additionally, LPH’s spring initiation was held via Zoom due to lockdown, and so our new members have yet to have a ceremony where they can receive their official membership certificates and where we can publicly acknowledge their achievement.”
Everything Dr. Paal and the rest of Lambda Pi Eta set out to do by hosting this event was accomplished. New members of LPH got the opportunity to be publicly recognized and to connect with other members. It also provided prospective students a chance to learn more about the COMMunity and why it is such a unique major to join. As Dr. Paal mentioned, this semester has been a challenge for everyone. This event provided students an opportunity to connect with one another and to not focus on all of their challenges for a little while. The COMMunity Open Lawn event also proved that as a major we can still come together and keep our community strong no matter the circumstances. Even in the most challenging of times, the COMMunity remains resilient.