Global Posts

It isn’t often you get a personal welcome from a writer but believe me when you are reading about this, the you is you. I promise. Welcome. I am glad you are taking some time to spend with me here. This site is new, but I am glad to share it with you.

Getting a college degree involves a significant investment. So why not take full advantage of the many activities and services on campus that are provided at no additional cost?

Below are just a few of the upcoming events, activities and services that are available at no additional cost for your Lancers. And a couple are free to parents, too!

LinkedIn Professional Photo Portrait 

Thursday, Feb. 16, 1-4:30 p.m., Hiner Hall lobby

Your student can get a free professional head-and-shoulders photo taken at this upcoming “photo booth” session sponsored by the College of Business
and Education. These portraits are perfect for use on LinkedIn—and it’s never too early to establish a professional presence on this online networking site.

Open Mic Night 

Thursday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m., Upchurch University Center first floor lounge
Does your Lancer sing, write poetry, play an instrument? Lancer Productions, WMLU and SGA are bringing back Open Mic Night after last year’s success! Anyone who’s interested in performing can sign up here: Open Mic Night

Open to Parents and Families!
Richmond Symphony Concert 

Friday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m., Jarman Auditorium
This free concert by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra is open to everyone, including parents and other family members. The program will feature Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 and Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole with violin soloist Maria Duenas, a rising star in the world of classical music. No tickets are necessary.

Open to Parents!
FAFSA Webinar: Ask Questions, Get Answers

Saturday, Feb. 25, 10 a.m.
The FAFSA—Free Application for Federal Student Aid—for the 2023-24 year is live. The FAFSA is used to determine your student’s eligibility for federal and state grants, direct loans, the federal work-study program and some need-based scholarships. Parents are invited to this help session at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Feb 25. Access the webinar here: go.longwood.edu/fafsa

You’ll find a calendar of other activities/events provided for students—almost all at no additional charge—at http://www.longwood.edu/events/calendar/ .

Bicycles

Longwood maintains a fleet of bicycles that can be checked out by students for 30 days at a time through the Health and Fitness Center. There’s no additional charge as long as they’re returned on time.

Fitness Classes

Campus Recreation offers a wide array of group fitness classes. From yoga to Spin Bootcamp to Dance-versity, there should be something to suit just about anyone’s workout tastes. Students can take any—or all—classes at no additional charge.

Longwood Recovers Meetings

Longwood Recovers is an informal and voluntary support group for members of the Longwood community in or considering recovery. Longwood Recovery offers a private space for a weekly group meeting in addition to individual meeting slots with recovery support staff. Group meetings are held every Thursday from 3-4:15 p.m. in Upchurch University Center 305A, and all are welcome to attend (including Recovery Allies). Coffee is provided. Questions? Feel free to contact 434-394-0656.

WellTrack Boost App 

Free to all Longwood students, WellTrack Boost is an interactive self-help app that is designed to increase mental health awareness. The app also provides assessments, connections to campus resources, and strategies and tools for anxiety, stress and depression. Students can download the WellTrack Boost app and register with their Longwood email. Download WellTrack Boost

Caps, Gowns and Hoods Available to Borrow for May Commencement

The SGA has 20 caps, gowns and hoods available to borrow at no cost, especially for students who cannot purchase these items. There are a variety of sizes and hoods for the various colleges. They are available first-come, first-served from Martha Butler in the SGA office on the third floor of Upchurch University Center.

Pass Down the Gown: Recycle Graduation Regalia for Next Year’s Graduating Class

Anyone who doesn’t want to hang onto their graduation regalia can keep it from taking up space in their closet—and out of a landfill—by “passing it down” to be used by next year’s graduating class. Students can donate their caps, gowns and hoods (any or all of those items will be accepted) at the Info Desk in Upchurch University Center. Someone will be there to take donations for about an hour after the end of the May 20 Commencement ceremony.

—Sabrina Brown

To register click this link: https://forms.gle/PPNFbKToo1sthgcU8

If you’re thinking about brightening up a winter weekend with a trip to Longwood, I have a suggestion: Feb. 24-25.

Why?

Friday evening: Free concert by the Richmond Symphony
Saturday afternoon: Men’s basketball’s last home game of the season vs. UNC Asheville
Saturday afternoon: Exhibition of paintings by nationally acclaimed folk artist Eldridge Bagley

Of course, you can also try out Farmville’s brewery, wine-tasting venue or a local restaurant; stroll and shop on Main Street; and, most importantly, spend some quality time with your student and give them a hug.

Here are a few more details.

Richmond Symphony Concert

Friday, Feb. 24, 7:30 p.m., Jarman Auditorium, Longwood campus
All you need to attend this concert is a love of good music. It’s free, and no tickets are required. Included on the program are Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, featuring violin soloist María Dueñas, and Brahms’ Symphony No. 3.

Men’s Basketball vs. UNC Asheville

Saturday, Feb. 25, 4:30 p.m., Willett Hall, Longwood campus
The reigning Big South champions take on UNC Asheville for their final home game of the season. General admission tickets are $8. Attendance has been high this season, so I recommend getting your tickets in advance at longwoodtickets.com. (Longwood students always get in free.) Also, you’ll be part of history as this is the last game of Lancer basketball ever to be played in Willett Hall. Both men’s and women’s teams will play in the new Joan Perry Brock Center starting next season.

Reflections of the Heart: Eldridge Bagley—50 Years of Painting

Saturday, Feb. 25, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, 129 N. Main Street

Reunion Table, 1998, oil on linen, 18″ x 24″, courtesy of the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia.

Bagley often depicts the substance and meaning of a vanishing small-town and agrarian lifestyle in his work. Relationships with family, friends, neighbors, religion and the land are important themes in this retrospective exhibition.

Lodging

If you’d like to spend the night in Farmville, here’s a list of places to stay.

Hope to see you here in Farmville later this month!

 —Sabrina Brown

Because it’s a top priority here at Longwood, we’re always looking for ways to be proactive when it comes to your student’s safety.

An email went out to students today letting them know about a training opportunity where they can learn more about how to be safe in different situations.

This free Code Red training is being offered by the Longwood Police Department and Office of Emergency Management, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The training will cover what steps to take in an active threat situation and severe weather emergencies.

A total of 12 sessions will be offered here on campus: six each on Monday, Jan. 30, and Tuesday, Jan. 31.

The training will last approximately 90 minutes and will be led by LUPD staff, Emergency Management Coordinator Tracie Giles ’94 and Jamie Finney ’98, a supervisory protective security advisor for the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Students will be welcomed into each session on a first-come, first-served basis. Sessions are limited to 25 participants each.

If you or your student has questions about the Code Red training, you can email Tracie Giles, emergency management coordinator, at police@longwood.edu.

—Sabrina Brown

I chose to enhance one of my major classes- CSDS430: Language and Literacy. This class was all about the importance of literacy in children’s linguistic development, and all that goes into learning to read, speak, and/or communicate. I enjoyed this class especially because I have an interest in literacy specialization as a potential career path, and learning all that goes into being “literate” was very interesting. We broke down what literacy meant, going all the way back to phonological awareness, text awareness, and morphological awareness. All-in-all, this was a really interesting class that taught us about issues that are occurring all around us, and what we can do to hopefully combat them.

In my Stress and Crisis in the family class we reflected on how Incarceration can affect family stress discussing criminal justice and family institutions. In this reflection I discussed how incarceration contributes to a lot of stress such as disenfranchised grief, that incarceration is basically an ambiguous loss of a family member, and the stress that a child faces with an incarcerated parent. This class was one of my first few sociology classes so this reflection just touches the surface of what it means to think and write in a sociological manner. The structure of this reflection is formal in nature. I discuss the effects of Incarceration and the criminal justice system of families and children in stages such as early childhood, teenage years, and adulthood. Something I love about my writing on this reflection is that I propose social policy changes to help make incarceration less burdensome on the family structure. Overall, I think this is a very solid introduction writing into what it means to think sociologically about the Criminal justice system as a social institution. In my race and racism class we discussed the family institution in regards to gender and sexuality. This writing is more sociological as I took this class later in my educational path and had a better understanding of key concepts such as gender being socially constructed, analyzing and reflecting on the effects of gender and sexuality, and social perspectives such as the conflict perspective. In my Race and Racism class we also discussed and reflected on the criminal justice system. In this reflection my writing has become more sociological and stronger in nature as I am able to connect my learning across multiple disciplines such as political science, sociology, and history. I was able to connect key connections of social phenomena, racial ideologies, and the history of inequality to reflect upon the devastating impacts of the criminal justice system on families of color.