tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42740517241613781252024-03-13T08:00:36.006-04:00HSC UndergroundHSC Underground seeks to dig up the truth about things at Hampden-Sydney College. There is more here than meets the eye, and it is our firm belief that anyone interested in attending this school should be fully informed about what happens on and around campus.Walthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390409898667650690noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-52267080028582582202013-04-06T20:39:00.001-04:002013-04-06T20:39:36.624-04:00Being The Most Popular Kid In Class Doesn't Work ForeverReaders,<br />
<br />
I was asked to share this story from the NY Times with you guys. The source article can be found <a href="http://www.hsc.edu/Documents/AboutHSC/Specialized/Most%20Popular%20Kid%20NYT.pdf">here</a>. The article shares the name with my post title and was written by Dr. Christopher Howard, President of Hampden-Sydney College. It was published by the "NY Times inCollege In Leadership" column.<br />
<br />
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I can recall vividly the seventh-grade student council</blockquote>
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competition. My social studies teacher dutifully scanned the</blockquote>
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classroom for volunteers, exhorting at least one of us to run for</blockquote>
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office. Never shy to voice my opinion, it was not too difficult</blockquote>
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for me to accept her charge. “Howie for Student Council”</blockquote>
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posters joined similarly decorated signs for candidates vying</blockquote>
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for a coveted position as a representative of the people. More</blockquote>
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importantly, time drew nearer and nearer to the day when each</blockquote>
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candidate was expected to give their campaign speech to students</blockquote>
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waiting anxiously with open ears and closed minds.</blockquote>
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After the fifth candidate finished, it was my turn to speak.</blockquote>
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I was passionate, energetic, and interested in helping my fellow</blockquote>
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students; however, my talk was not terribly remarkable. But</blockquote>
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regardless of my oratory skills, I had something every kid needed</blockquote>
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to win an election: popularity. Like most other young people that</blockquote>
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age, I equated popularity with leadership. Not much changed</blockquote>
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during my successful runs for office through high school and</blockquote>
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even college, but I eventually arrived at positions in the military,</blockquote>
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Corporate America, non-profits, and higher education where,</blockquote>
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by definition, making unpopular decisions represented effective</blockquote>
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leadership. The desire to be popular had somehow become a</blockquote>
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liability.</blockquote>
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As the president of Hampden-Sydney College, I am impressed</blockquote>
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each day by young people who figuratively and literally want to</blockquote>
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change the world. Through their work with clubs, organizations,</blockquote>
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and even their very own 501(c)(3) corporations housed both</blockquote>
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on and off campus, these young men work diligently for a</blockquote>
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greater good, leading as best they know how. They support</blockquote>
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popular causes and, not too unlike my seventh-grade student</blockquote>
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council campaign, they remain generally well-liked by all they</blockquote>
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encounter. But I think it is important to caution this at times</blockquote>
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overly-confident generation, as well as the reader, that leadership</blockquote>
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is not a popularity contest. Moreover, those of us who teach and</blockquote>
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develop future leaders must educate these apt pupils on what is</blockquote>
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just around the corner in their often peripatetic lives.</blockquote>
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Professor Ronald Heifetz of the John F. Kennedy School of</blockquote>
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Government at Harvard University often talks about leadership</blockquote>
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being a dangerous place. It is even more so for young people</blockquote>
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if they transition to leadership roles unprepared mentally,</blockquote>
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emotionally, spiritually, and even physically for the daunting</blockquote>
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tasks at hand. As old-fashioned as it may sound, we need</blockquote>
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to provide opportunities for emerging leaders to develop</blockquote>
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toughness—or what Dr. Angela Duckworth from the University</blockquote>
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of Pennsylvania calls GRIT—if they are to survive and thrive in</blockquote>
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the 21st century.</blockquote>
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I am not arguing for a Dickensian grey world consisting</blockquote>
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of ritualistic slaps on the wrist, just because. However, I am</blockquote>
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reminding scholars and practitioners of leadership education</blockquote>
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alike to recall that no matter how elegant an idea may be, it</blockquote>
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often takes an individual with the courage to endure some</blockquote>
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degree of deprivation to see it through to the end.</blockquote>
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Perhaps the best way of achieving this goal is to intentionally</blockquote>
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link character education to leadership development, with the</blockquote>
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appropriate crucible experiences incorporated along the way.</blockquote>
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Good examples include individuals like Bob McDonald, CEO</blockquote>
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of Proctor & Gamble, and Colonel Mark Hyatt, Executive</blockquote>
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Director of the Foundation for Character Development, who</blockquote>
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sponsor important initiatives that assist with positive character</blockquote>
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formation.</blockquote>
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The military calls it the “loneliness of command,” while</blockquote>
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others, describing the quintessential leadership role, the</blockquote>
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American Presidency, describe it as “the glorious burden.”</blockquote>
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Whichever title one chooses, leadership is not a seventh-grade</blockquote>
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student council election. We must keep this precept in mind</blockquote>
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when developing the next generation of leaders.</blockquote>
</blockquote>
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<br />
Now, I don't usually just post things like this without commenting on them, and I'm certainly not going to start now. I'm not sure why the anonymous reader asked me to share this article written by Dr. Christopher Howard. It's a nice piece, though. I understand where Dr. Howard is coming from, though I was never one to run for student leadership positions. I hated the institution of "class presidents" in High School because it was always the dumb popular jocks that won. (I'm not saying all popular people are dumb, that all jocks are dumb, or that all jocks are popular, or anything of that nature. That's just kinda how it turned out at my school).<br />
<br />
That being said, I can't help but notice that there is still a fair bit of that going on in college. Now, I'm sure the students elected to positions this year at HSC will do fine, but they weren't necessarily the ones I voted for. I <i>did</i> however, notice that when I asked people who they were voting for and why, a disappointingly common response was "I just think he's cool." Another: "He's my friend. I have to vote for him!" And, of course, my favorite: "Well I'm not going to vote for someone who has no chance of winning. . ."<br />
<br />
The student leaders that end up being elected to position at Hampden-Sydney are usually fairly competent, and I have very few negative things to say about any of them. I do find it disconcerting that I hear comments like those around election times. It is that exact sort of sentiment that kept me from running for the office of President for this past year. I didn't think there was any chance of winning, and I didn't really see the point, so I stuck to my academics, instead. I'm not at school to lead, anyway.<br />
<br />
Anyway, that's pretty much all I have to say on this article. Do you guys have anything you would like to say? Responses? Leave a comment, please, and if you have any stories of your own to share, pelase email me at walter.mccoy91@gmail.com!<br />
<br />
--Your Editor.Walthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390409898667650690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-41397310791925671372013-04-06T20:08:00.000-04:002013-04-06T20:08:21.289-04:00An Apology, an Update, and "Where do we go from here?"Greetings everyone,<br />
<br />
As you might have surmised from the title, I have some things to say. Additionally, if you are a regular reader of mine, you've probably been waiting <i>quite</i> a while for this. So, to start with, I'd like to give an apology. In the comments of my last post, I promised an update to cover more angles and perspectives of the <a href="http://hscu.blogspot.com/2012/11/more-hate-on-campus-after-election.html">election night hate incident</a>.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, I got busy. Such is life. In my defense, I <i>am</i> just an undergrad student, and I have been working through my capstone project, honors thesis, and several other projects. (They all turned out well so far, thanks for asking!) I feel like this excuse is not nearly strong enough, and so I feel guilty that I have waited so long to post any sort of update.<br />
<br />
To be perfectly fair, though, there really hasn't been too much going on on campus in the same sort of dramatic scale (pertaining to this incident, I mean). There has been a very nice level of continued conversation about it, though. Everyone at the school has continued to be concerned about this sort of incident, and so we have all started working on way to prevent this sort of thing from happening ever again. I have personally started attending meetings with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (I think I have that acronym right), along with several other student and student leaders. The workshops have gone exceptionally well.<br />
<br />
I also hear tell of several programs that may be introduced next term for incoming freshmen that revolve around promoting the idea of inclusiveness. It's starting to look like things are taking a positive turn. Of course, at the same time, there's no way to tell how this will turn out, and only time will really tell.<br />
<br />
And finally, a look toward the future. You might wonder why I chose today to update. Well I'm currently in Ann Arbor, Michigan with a few professors and students for a conference hosted by the American Men's Studies Association. We were all presenting on different things (one of our students even spoke about the racial incident and the way rhetoric was used in the aftermath. Very good stuff!). I'm in the hotel room right now, because I wanted to avoid the madness outside (it's fairly crazy at the moment). I was thinking about the blog, and several things, and since I had nothing else to do, I thought I'd take a look here and work on this.<br />
<br />
Now, I graduate in May. Over the past few months, I regret to say that I've become far less interested in what is going on at the school. I will be gone soon, after all, so why care? I still care, though. The future of this blog, however, may not last as long. I have a few other story ideas that I may be able to work on, and I'm going to keep the site up, just in case anyone wants to go back and look at it, but there's a strong possibility that my stories will be few and far between. Additionally, since I wont be attending the school anymore, my information will all be a bit disconnected from the source. we will see what happens.<br />
<br />
In the end, though, I just want to thank everyone for reading and supporting me in this endeavor. As always, feel free to leave comments, and if you have a story you'd like to share, please email me at walter.mccoy91@gmail.com<br />
<br />
Again, thank you!<br />
--Your editorWalthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390409898667650690noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-33316908954237015242012-11-08T22:51:00.001-05:002012-11-09T08:34:28.620-05:00More Hate on Campus after ElectionGreetings readers and concerned individuals,<br />
<br />
This article is taking some work, just because I want to get everything as straight as possible before I publish anything, but I appreciate that my blog already had a ton of hits today, without me even posting anything. I appreciate that people look here for information about incidents on campus, and can only apologize that I'm slow to respond on occasion.<br />
<br />
That being said, I'm sure we're all aware by now of what happened on the night of Tuesday, November 6th, 2012 (Election Day). If you haven't, then in a nutshell: after it was announced the Barack Obama won the reelection for POTUS, a group of students, in a state of jilted unrest were found shouting racially charged hate at members of the Minority Student Union house. This gathering, which happened around Fraternity Circle has caused enough trouble to land HSC on the radar for several new sources. I've included a couple of them here, which give the details as they are known by more established reporters than myself:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www2.wsls.com/news/2012/nov/08/3/hampden-sydney-college-reports-racial-slurs-violen-ar-2347132/">WSLS</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://elitedaily.com/elite/2012/presidential-election-outcome-raciallycharged-incident-hampdensydney-college/">EliteDaily</a><br />
<br />
Additionally, here is the college's official statement, posted on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HampdenSydneyCollege">Hampden-Sydney College facebook pag</a>e:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Shortly after 11 PM on November
6, a group of about 40 students gathered near the Minority Student Union (MSU)
house. Members of the group set off fireworks and threw bottles in response to
the presidential election results. At some point, members of the group shouted
racial epithets at the men at MSU threatening them with physical harm. The
members of MSU notified campus security. The incident lasted less than 45
minutes, and the group was largely dispersed through the efforts of responsible
students, especially fraternity officers. President Chris Howard and Dean of
Students David Klein went to Fraternity Circle and spent approximately one hour
meeting with students to determine what happened.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are terribly disappointed with
the students who participated in this harmful, senseless episode including
those men who stood idly by and watched it happen. There is no place for
bigotry or racism at Hampden-Sydney. In response to this incident, President
Howard called a Town Hall meeting on the evening on November 7. Nearly 300
members of the Hampden-Sydney community gathered to address the incident and
its implications for our community. We were all moved by the responses of our
students, their condemnation of the incident, and their heartfelt appeals to
brotherhood.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The incident on November 6 is
under investigation and will be adjudicated by the Student Justice system.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
</blockquote>
Now, if you recall, this is not the first racially charged incident that has happened this year. In September I sat down with a friend who found a <a href="http://hscu.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-expression-of-intolerance.html">hate message written on the walls of a bathroom</a>. Needless to say, I am bothered that this type of crap keeps happening at my school. What worries me more is that, even though this stuff keeps happening, I've rarely seen anything done to prevent this sort of event happening again.<br />
<br />
This time is different, however. Since the story has made national news (even now I'm hearing reports that CNN is visiting campus tonight), HSC is doing something about it. Now, I don't want to sound terribly cynical. Normally, I would attribute the school's drive to action to the desperate attempt to keep negative publicity away from the public eye. I still believe that public relations is a cause of the action, but it is definitely not the greatest factor. No, this time it is because people are genuinely pissed off.<br />
<br />
I wasn't there. I was safe in my room watching <i>Supernatural</i>, celebrating with a beer after the election of the man I voted for. I didn't even know anything had happened until I woke up the next morning to hear that one of my friends was so afraid for his life that he actually left campus the night before. I heard that friend had been shot at with a firework and that racial hate was being directed at people that I consider brothers. It's enough to say that I was pretty pissed off. This whole mess was so crazy that my <i>dad</i> was ready to call the school to pitch a fit (this surprised me of course. It also surprised me that he was also relatively pissed off that the school would address racial prejudice but never really does anything about gay hate...but that's another story altogether).<br />
<br />
I'm not the only one in outrage, though. And that brings us to the real point of this article. You can get the story about what happened from any of the news stories that are flying around, but what of actual student reaction? What I decided to do was ask a couple students what they experienced first hand that night. I've collected these experiences, along with other parts of the chronicle of this event, and I am including them here for people to read. It is important for voices to be heard, and I thank these guy for helping me out. I would also like to shout out to several alumni that I know are angry about what happened, and have said so publicly. I'm glad that they still care enough about the school that they want their voices heard.<br />
<br />
By the way, if you are reading this, and would like to lend your experience to the article, PLEASE SEND IT TO ME! I would love to hear from more voices. send me your reaction to walter.mccoy91@gmail.com.<br />
<br />
This first bit is the email that was sent to the student body from Dr. Chris Howard, president of Hampden-Sydney College.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">
Members of the Hampden-Sydney Community,</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At approximately eleven minutes
after midnight, the Dean of Students, other members of the College faculty and
staff, and I received an email from students at the Minority Student Union
(MSU) stating a large group had gathered outside their house (formerly Lambda
Chi House). The members of group set off fireworks and threw
bottles evidently in response to the presidential election results. At
some point, members of the group shouted racial epithets at the men in MSU
threatening them with physical violence. The members of MSU notified
campus security. After speaking with Chief Gee on the phone, I walked to
Fraternity Circle with Dean Klein and spent approximately one hour meeting with
students from MSU, Sigma Nu and Sigma Chi to determine what happened.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am terribly disappointed with
the students who participated in this harmful, senseless episode including
those men who stood idly by and watched it happen. There is no place for
bigotry or racism of any kind on this campus. Dean Klein and I will be
meeting with the leaders of various fraternities and MSU today to learn more
about the events of last night. We will also work with leaders of student
government, the Interfraternity Council and the Intercultural Affairs Committee
to determine the appropriate course of action and to devise ways to ensure our
students respect each other despite their racial differences.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I encourage every student,
faculty and staff member to take time today to discuss this incident and what
it means to Hampden-Sydney. Our mission is to produce “Good Men and
Good Citizens”; there is little doubt that some of us failed last night.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I ask those who were involved in
or witnessed this incident to consider your responsibility as a Hampden-Sydney
Man and contact either Alex Cartwright (CartwrightA@hsc.edu) or Dean Klein
(dklein@hsc.edu).</span></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
This email was followed up with this one:<br />
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<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ladies & Gentlemen – In
light of the events that transpired on our campus last night, I ask that
students, faculty and staff gather tonight at 7:00pm in Snyder Hall to discuss
ensuring that Hampden-Sydney College is a RESPECTFUL and INCLUSIVE Community.</span></div>
</blockquote>
Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the meeting myself due to prior engagements, but I am pleased to hear that it went really well. I've spent the whole day looking for reactions to the meeting, only to come back to my room to find an email from Dr. Howard, with his review of the meeting:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dear Members of the
Hampden-Sydney College Community,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Last night’s Town Hall meeting
reminded me why my family and I came to this College. One after another,
almost thirty Hampden-Sydney Men stood before a group of three hundred of their
peers, teachers, coaches and staff members to denounce emphatically what
transpired on November 6th. These men renewed their commitment to our
student code of conduct and reaffirmed their desire to live in an inclusive and
respectful community. They expressed love for their fellow students and
confidence in the Student Court. Most importantly they pledged to put
things right. My role is to help them do just that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">First, the Dean of Students has
assigned a highly-decorated member of our campus security team to investigate
the incident. I can assure the investigation will be timely, professional
and thorough. In order to ensure due process, we cannot broadcast the
findings immediately as the Student Court, Interfraternity Council and
Commonwealth’s Attorney will need to review the report to ensure all aspects
are properly adjudicated. Most importantly, we have learned our own
students diffused the situation themselves exercising leadership and good
judgment before authorities arrived on the scene.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Second, building on the
tremendous outpouring of support from last night’s Town Hall meeting, I have
asked the Intercultural Affairs Committee led by Dr. Rene Severin to submit a
plan to me in the next few weeks on how we can better educate students on what
it takes to ensure our community is one marked by inclusion and respect.
Several students approached me and my colleagues on the faculty and staff last
night asking simply “what can I do to help?”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Third, we are ultimately an
institution of higher learning and though those individuals responsible for
this incident will be dealt with it should also serve as a teachable moment and
it shall.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, do not waiver in your
belief in our fine institution. Know there were many more people at our
Town Hall Meeting than those who misbehaved on Tuesday night. Together,
we will rise to the occasion.</span></div>
</blockquote>
I'm pretty sure that Dr. Howard doesn't care for me too much (I think he's read the blog), but I know that he cares for this school and for the students as a whole. I'm really thankful for how on-the-ball he has been with reacting to this incident, so even though I have disagreed with his actions in the past, I definitely want to thank him for what he is doing now.<br />
<br />
I would also like to talk a little bit about the Town Hall Meeting. I wish that I could've been there. Unfortunately, my independent study in theatre required me to be off-campus at the time. I have only heard great things about the meeting, however. It was drawn to my attention by an anonymous commentor on this very post that I haven't drawn enough attention to it. They had something really great to say, though:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">most H-SC students are not
racists. I know for a fact that there are several campus leaders (including
some fraternity presidents) that are raising the accountability bar for their
members in the hopes of establishing a stronger brotherhood. High minded men
with high minded ideals will always be confronted by inferior individuals who
will try to bring them down. I have also found that when people who are
"victimized" STOP acting like victims, they are better able to
achieve their objectives. In fact, when those who are "victimized"
reach out in love and embrace those who seek to diminish them, then they are no
longer the "victims" but are, in fact, the VICTORS! Please endeavor
to present the sentiments of the majority of the students...people's
livelihoods are at stake (particularly the professors who, like the student
body, are the heart of the college). We need less chaos in this world...and you
are in the perfect leadership position to help change people's minds...let the
world see that it's not our sexuality, our race, or our creed that we are
judged...but rather that we are judged by the content of our character... as
Dr. King prayed for. It is just not fair to the majority of students who share
in those sentiments to be cast under the bus with the small minority who chose
very poorly for themselves and placed this noble institution in the line of
fire. Because of your high-mindedness and great capacity to love, I know you
will take all that I have written to your heart. I am praying for a peaceful
resolution and for a better Hampden-Sydney College to emerge from this.</span></div>
</blockquote>
This anon was right in urging me to discuss this point. I am disappointed that I haven't been able to speak to any of these students who spoke. I have actually spoken with one student, Matthew Buchanan, Class of 2013, who was able to share his personal experiences, but I don't have anything else to say, except that the meeting was full of people who were ready to see change--full of people who are ready, willing, and hungry to see some form of positivity come out of this horrible atrocity. For those of you reading this, yes it all looks pretty bad, but keep in mind that there is a majority here at HSC that is ready to try to fix things.<br />
<br />
Next is a first hand account of last Tuesday as experienced by Kiel Powell, Class of 2014. Kiel is a pretty outspoken Democrat, and I know that he has the ability to infuriate many people with his highly vocal opinions on things, but I also know that he is a pretty good guy. The following is his account of the night:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">As a registered democrat and four
year supporter of Obama, I was delighted to see CNN and ABC call the election
so early on Tuesday night. For us, it was a time of jubilation and excitement.
I quickly realized that several of my friends were probably celebrating down at
MSU [Minority Student Union] house. James “Bluefield” Lily and I decided to head over sometime between 11:30-11:45.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">We both, along with seven other
Hampden-Sydney men, live at international house. Due to the position of our
house, we had to pass K.A. [A fraternity] While we rejoiced in a
resounding victory; the massive crowd at K.A. did their own
rejoicing. Only, with their excitement and zeal came fireworks, alcohol, and a
lot of hate. They screamed “f**k Obama!” “Romney!” “F**k socialists!” and many
derogatory words aimed at Obama and the race he apparently represents.
Bluefield and I tried to ignore the obscenities as they quickly saw us and
directed their angry rhetoric in our direction. Still, we knew Obama won and
nothing they said could take that away from us. As we walked in between MSU and
Sigma Chi [another fraternity], the sounds of bigotry, drunken hatred, and fireworks fell a little
more faint. Finally, we had reached MSU and could enjoy the company of fellow
friends and Obama supporters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">However, several students sat on
the front porch of Sigma Chi. As we walked down the hall and turned the corner,
several students addressed the two of us. One said, “Yeah! Finally! Somebody is
going to take it to those n*****s! Go kick their asses!” to which I replied,
“I’m sorry, but I voted for Obama. I have friends here. Have fun being ignorant
and hateful.” This caused him to reply consequently, “F**k you too a**hole! You
f***ing traitor! F**k Obama! Romney 2012!.” While this was being said, we were
already walking to the front door of MSU. Bluefield did not respond to the
students’ hate speech and he already was at the door of MSU. I never
approached the student or made hostile gestures. This student, likely a Sigma Chi brother, who did have alcohol in
his hand, wanted me to attack people because of their race. This is pathetic
and despicable! I have never been more offended and angry in my life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Once inside, we embraced our
fellow Obama supporters. However, not even a minute after we arrived, several
members of MSU left through the back door. Bluefield and I followed suit. I
believe 5-7 other MSU members, including the president and myself, approached
the massive crowd gathering at KA. This crowd, this mob, was at least 50, maybe
even 70 strong. I want to also make clear the following: not all members of
this crowd were KA brothers (many in fact were), there were also members of
Sigma Chi and Sigma Nu [yet another frat], as well as students of every college class. However, I must
stress the fact that they were a mob of angry, intoxicated students.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">They fired off about a dozen
fireworks as we approached. None aimed directly at us. Some straight into the
air, others slightly towards MSU or International House. Some were even fired
towards their own bunker. Anyways, the president of MSU approached the mob
slowly and calmly. He stood in defense of MSU, its members, and against
the mob’s prejudice. What he did was nothing short of rave. To try and settle
this problem with so many on their side; I have great respect for him.
Immediately the mob formed a half circle, or a wall, behind the members of the
crowd that we were trying to talk to. They looked like they were getting ready
for a fight. Many members of this 50+ crowd were focused on the situation at
hand. They weren’t screaming; however, they were still muttering hate speech,
including “f**k these n*****s.” As a civil conversation began between the President
of MSU and several representatives. After a minute or so of discussion it
appeared as though their hatred would finally subside.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">However, as it remained
comparatively tame and quiet, a member of the crowd stood up and shot
fireworks at us. The fireworks, narrowly missing myself, hit the ground ten or
fifteen feet behind myself and the other seven MSU members. The fireworks,
nearly hit two students and a young woman who were passing by. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I hope something is done in
regards to the fact that fireworks were shot on the premises of KA, most likely
by KA members. Fireworks are illegal in the state of Virginia. These
fraternities involved need to be closed this weekend and long term penalties
had better be pursued for their involvement! KA’s racism is well known in and
out of the HSC community. If the school permits this to continue you will see
very few minorities applying here and many leaving. I will not be a part of
this school my senior year if it tolerates such hatred. Soon after we were
shot at, a member of KA, I believe [name omitted] tried to make sure the
situation did not get out of hand and he talked to the other MSU members and
they headed back towards MSU.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">As the other members of MSU
returned to the house, I noticed Bluefield was near International House. As I
proceeded to walk away, not saying a word, the mob’s attention turned towards
me and I was addressed. They screamed “F**k you Kiel! You’re an a**hole! F**k
off!” repeatedly until I crossed the streets and reached my house. I walked
inside and called campus security twice. I assumed the campus security was busy
and dealing with similar problems on campus. However, it is still unacceptable
for them to not answer. In hind sight, with what happened four years ago, the
police should have known this would happen. But I have great respect for
everything they do on this campus. I then grabbed my car keys and moved my car
with Bluefield.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">When I returned inside to get
Bluefield to come out with me to move my car, he and Davonte Bradley were
talking about what we experienced. We all decided it would be best if we left
campus, one reason being Davonte was black. We became concerned for our safety
and believed that the violence and anger of the mob might come across the
street to our house. For this reason we left campus for about half an hour, in
hopes that maybe their aggression would calm down. The 50+ member mob,
primarily composed of KA brothers, could have easily decided to follow
Bluefield and I back to our house. I locked the front door and deadbolts. I did
not sleep that night. I locked my dorm door. I stayed up with my knife
next to me. With how violent the crowd was, coupled with the alcohol being
consumed, I expected the worst.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I have never seen hatred towards
a group of people like this! This attitude, which was clearly and openly
displayed for all to see, should serve as a wake-up call to all of the
Hampden-Sydney community. This racism that is well known has persisted for far
too long! We must stand united against such hatred so that we become the
brotherhood we say we are! What I witnessed Tuesday night was something
out of a civil rights documentary. I have never felt so ashamed to be a
Hampden-Sydney man. The members of this mob that I bared witness to, as well as
the events which took place before I arrived at MSU, should leave us
contemplating the school’s true message. Are we a brotherhood or a school that
has brothers that tolerate such hatred? I hope the school, administration, and
the community can stand united in the course of acceptance for all
Hampden-Sydney students. We cannot tolerate this hate any longer. It can
and should end with us. We all have the ability to move forward to a brighter
future in which all Hampden-Sydney College students are treated equally and
respectfully. We must also make certain those involved pay for their
transgression. This is 2012, not 1968! It’s time we make a change and act like
this is the 21st century!</span></div>
</blockquote>
Hate is vicious. It is gross and disgusting and has no place at an establishment that prides itself on creating "good men" and "good citizens." Something has to be done about this sort of hatred. Also, I just got off the phone with Tanner Knox, Class of 2013, a member of Sigma Nu and an avid reader of my blog. Like me, he is greatly disturbed by these events. He also asked me if I could remind everyone (just as I should've have done, but forgot to do before I posted this the first time) that these are student reactions, and should, in no way, be considered as absolutely true evidence. No one has been proven guilty in this incident, and wont be proven so until after the investigation. Additionally, Tanner let me know that Sigma Nu as an organization does not condone the behavior of the students from Tuesday Night. I've spoken with members of Sigma Nu in the past, and I know Tanner as an honest person, so I would like to include that I don't think they were responsible for this. I don't think any of the fraternities, themselves, were responsible for the incident, anyway: Instead, the incident was caused by individuals, not organizations.<br />
<br />
This next statement is from James "Bluefield" Lily, Class of 2014, who was with Kiel that night. Bluefield is another great guy who is active in his church, in campus activity, and is a genuinely loving and caring individual (if not a little weird at times).<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst">
<span style="font-size: large;">My name is James Lilly.
I am a Hampden-Sydney student and I support this college. I was one of the
people who witnessed the disgrace that happened Tuesday night. I <i>did</i> try contacting
Campus Security by phone, but was unable to get in touch with them (I want to make
it clear that I fully believe that the police had good reason for this). I saw
what I saw from my place of residency on Campus, the International House. I had
previously walked with Kiel Powell to help move his Obama Sticker covered car
from the street. We were concerned that it would be damaged by students. We
walked to the MSU house to celebrate the announcement that Obama won, which had
just been announced. I left the house within a few minutes of arriving, leaving
to go to my room because I had a paper to finish and had gone shortly ahead of the
group who came after me, so I was not able to see faces. On my way back to the
house, I saw what appeared to be KA leaders (I don’t actually know for sure)
shout to the crowd that everyone who is not a KA member needed to leave. His
request appeared to have been ignored. I had just walked in my housed door when
I heard a lot of commotion so I went outside to investigate. I witnessed a
large gathering of people (40+ people) which started at KA (I'm not directly accusing
KA) start shooting Roman candle fireworks from the roof of the KA house holding
the fireworks in their hands. The fireworks were brought to the ground and were
set off; some hit the KA house, others went toward the MSU house. I saw 5 or so
MSU students plus Kiel Powell came out of the MSU house and walked toward the
parking lot between the ex-Beta house and KA and went toward the KA group. I
heard one MSU student ask them to not shoot the Fireworks toward the houses,
warning of possible fire. I then witnessed the large group of people from the
KA property form a half circle and ONE person started to shoot the fireworks toward
the MSU group, the balls of fire going only feet from their heads and ONE or
TWO students threw glass bottles at the MSU group. The whole time, a few
students were shooting remarks like "kill them n*****s." I was
calling the police at this point and went inside to warn my black roommate
Davonte Bradley '14. A short time later Kiel came into the room and he tried to
call the police 3 times. We decided that we, all Obama supporters, needed to
leave campus to be safe, so we went to get McDonald's. I think the group of the
people who did this acted on their own, mainly out of drunkenness, and not as a
whole. I think it is wrong to say that this college is full of racists because
it is not. A majority of this Campus does not support these acts. I do believe the
individuals involved should be punished, but I think that this situation has
been blown out of proportion.</span></div>
</blockquote>
Bluefield has an excellent point that I think it is important to remember. Just as we saw at the Town Hall Meeting that Dr. Howard talked about, this campus is <i>not</i> full of racists. Unfortunately, there is a group of people who are totally willing to make the whole school look bad, and they are the ones that we are having a problem with. I personally disagree with Bluefield's belief that the situation has been blown out of proportion. I believe that this is a big deal, and has been a big deal for a really long time. I think that it is incredibly important that this incident is being discussed so much. If it <i>is</i> "out of proportion", then I believe it has to be for a good thing. If this kind of ignorance and hate continues to go unnoticed, then we are giving off the message that it doesn't really matter.<br />
<br />
It DOES matter. No one should ever have to experience this sort of hate, either directly or indirectly. This next piece is from Davonte Bradley, Class of 2014. I've known Davonte since his freshman year. He's a great guy and is always willing to help people out. I think he's funny, smart, and honest about his opinions.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">When the election was finally
called and President Obama was declared the winner, I had a very strong feeling
that there would be quite the negative response around campus, and especially
on Fraternity Circle in the direction of KA. Shortly after Obama's re-election
was decided, I heard what sounded like three gunshots go off somewhere on the
Circle. Bluefield and Kiel both went to move their cars after the
"shots" were heard, but they learned that the "shots" were
actually fireworks. I was still rather worried at that point, however. I heard
news from Adam [Turner, another Junior] that people were getting rowdy and
destructive at E dorm which made me think that something similar was bound to
happen down where we were. A little later Bluefield and Kiel decided that they
should go down to MSU as they knew a few friends who had in fact voted for
Obama and wanted to celebrate with them. I didn't think it was a great idea, so
I stayed behind in my room. Minutes later I heard Bluefield running frantically
up the stairs and he entered the room looking panicked. He told me that we need
to either lock the doors or leave campus. I immediately knew that something had
happened down there, or something WAS going on down there that was dangerous.
Bluefield informed me that there was a lot of angry drunk people outside upset
about Romney's loss, and those people were firing fireworks and throwing beer
bottles at people near MSU. From what he said, and what I could hear from the
room, it sounded like there was a mob out there that was targeting African
Americans. Kiel returned shortly after Bluefield and told me that there were
racial slurs being shouted and that he was actually told to go into MSU to
attack people there. That confirmed my suspicions. MSU is predominantly African
American and I assumed that they would all be considered Obama sympathizers. It
was then when I decided that I didn't even want to be anywhere near the campus
because I felt like the campus was at the brink of utter chaos. I feared for my
safety and we unanimously decided that we should leave, and we did. We didn't
return for about 30 minutes or so and by that time everything had cooled
down.<br />
<br />
However, to be completely honest, that situation didn't surprise me at all.
Friends of mine, myself, and a great deal of people at MSU felt like something
like this was going to happen if Obama was re-elected. We all saw it coming.
Actually, I thought it was going to be far worse than it was. In the case of
racially charged incidents on this campus, I can't say that I'll ever be
surprised about them. I think it's sad, however, that it feels like there's
nothing I can do to prevent these sorts of things from happening even though I
know that they WILL eventually happen at some time, some place, to some
person. </span></div>
</blockquote>
Davonte, it makes me sad that you weren't surprised, because that means, as you suggested, you were expecting it. This sort of racially charge hate (or hate of any kind, for that matter) shouldn't be something that we just <i>expect</i> and accept as a sort of inevitability. Instead, we should be able to feel safe at this school. We should be able to feel welcome and appreciated.<br />
<br />
In conclusion here, I want to ask a very simple sort of question that attributes to a huge worry that I have: Why couldn't these guys reach campus security? Why wasn't campus security on the circle? If students like Davonte could predict that something like this would happen, why wasn't Campus Security worried, as well? I know that neither Kiel nor Bluefield blame Campus Security for being unreachable, but I kinda want to. What the hell? I have personally never seen Campus Security do <i>anything</i>. Sure, I'll see them patrol around a bit, and occasionally pull someone over, but I've never seen or heard of them dealing with these really big matters, or even being <i>prepared</i> to deal with them. I have tried in the past on multiple occasions to reach campus security to no avail. Incidents that happened in my first year here might've been avoided, had they answered, but no. Do you know what I want? Campus Security. We do not have Campus Security. We have a group of officers ready to serve as campus police, but we do not have a force prepared to offer any sort of support and security to this school. The guys at MSU should not have had to deal with the incident from last Tuesday. Students should not be so frightened that they have to leave campus. Hell, I should be able to walk around campus with my boyfriend without the fear that one of us will be hurt by a drunken bigot! Yes, education could help prevent some of these problems from happening, but it wont stop them all. What we <i>really</i> need is a force to help protect us when they do, inevitably, occur.<br />
<br />
I know that I said I was concluding, but I <i>do</i> have one more thing to say that just came up. Prompted by the posting on the Hampden-Sydney College page on Facebook of the college's official statement, students, alumni, and others have shared their opinions of matters involving the event, as well as other concerns that they have. One that bothered me, specifically, is the suggestion that MSU "is apparently a place for racial segregation." MSU is <i>not</i> a place of segregation. In fact:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The MSU was established to
educate as well as make the Hampden-Sydney community aware of different
cultures and backgrounds that exist on campus. Moreover, this organization
provides its members with an environment to express views and concerns that are
unique to minorities. Although we are officially a club, our organization more
closely resembles a fraternity. This organization is open to any and every
person on campus who would either like to promote diversity on campus or be a
part of a close-knit family. (Taken from the <a href="http://www.hsc.edu/Student-Life/Intercultural-Affairs/Minority-Student-Union.html">HSC
Website</a>).</span></div>
</blockquote>
MSU provides a home to anyone who finds themselves a part of a minority at Hampden-Sydney, and even opens it's arms to people who would defend and support diversity at an otherwise non-diverse college. I could, if I wanted, join MSU as a gay man, even though I'm white. I'm pretty sure there's even a white student living in the MSU house this semester. Anyway, my point is, it is <i>not</i> for segregational purposes.<br />
<br />
Another thing that bothers me is this comment:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"> "Why is this on Facebook? Shouldn't this be dealt with internally in private?? Poor taste putting this out there........"</span></blockquote>
<br />
NO! THIS IS EXACTLY MY POINT! This is the whole point of this blog, too! HSC tries to handle too many things internally, and cover up when this type of bad thing happens. But the school <i>should</i> be embarrassed. We should <i>all</i> be embarrassed. It was that single group of students that did the deed, but by covering things up and not exposing this type of hate--by not accepting responsibility for the wrongs done at this school--we are all individually to blame for this act of hatred. Several people on the page have also expressed their concerns about the post even being put on the Facebook group. "It might hurt our recruitment efforts" seems to be the concern for these people. ARE YOU F***ING SERIOUS!?! If this type of BS is going on at this school, recruitment efforts <i>should</i> be hurt. Especially if your concern is for recruitment of new students, and not for the safety of students who already attend. /sarcasm It's great to know that the school cares about the students until they get here, and then we don't! /end sarcasm.<br />
<br />
Another point: I know that there is concern that not all sides of the story are being told. Surely MSU prompted this attack? From reports that I have heard, yes, MSU was there, celebrating Obama's victory. They were just as much within their right to do this as members of KA or others were to express their disappointment at Romney's defeat. To an extent, it is okay with MSU to have taken bragging rights, and rubbed it in the faces of Romney supporters. Even though it's immature, I hear that that is actually part of what happened. That being said, MSU was not throwing glass bottles at anyone. They were not aggressively shouting messages of hate or launching fireworks at anyone or near anything that could burn. I am saddened to see that people have begun to victim-blame MSU. The members of this mob--this <i>riot</i>, even--are the ones responsible for this. Even if MSU "instigated" anything with their celebration (and I don't believe that they really did), they are<i> </i>the victims of this event, not the perpetrators.<br />
<br />
This discussion is still on-going, and I simply don't have time to read all of it (I <i>am</i> a student, after all. I have homework), so I am going to end this article here, with a quick reminder: If you would like to add anything to this article, email me at walter.mccoy91@gmail.com.<br />
<br />
Stay Strong, readers. There is hope for the future of Hampden-Sydney. I used to think that this school would be better served as a crater with a monument in the center, but I have grown to believe that there is a chance that this wretched wasteland of a college can grow and return out of the past and into the present.<br />
<br />
This is Walter McCoy, Class of 2013, signing off!Walthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390409898667650690noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-11826706632455075552012-10-02T12:46:00.001-04:002012-10-02T18:08:03.623-04:00The "Expression of Intolerance"Readers,<br />
<br />
At 1:47 pm on Saturday, September 29th, I received an email addressed to [H-SC Students] with the subject line "Expression of intolerance." I hope that most of you read this email as well, but I can't help but wonder how much thought anyone put into it. I know that, as a senior, I've received a couple emails like this in the past. Unfortunately, intolerance just keeps happening. For those of you who haven't read or seen the email, I will copy it here for you:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"Gentlemen,<br />I am sorry to report to you that last night someone left
an expression of intolerance on the wall of the large bathroom in
Venable. To the person(s) responsible, please know that the entire
Hampden Sydney College community condemns your behavior. That is not
how we choose to live here. I have removed the expression and Buildings
and &Grounds personnel have been asked to clean the rest of the
bathroom. <br />We are all diminished by this behavior. Let us strive to be better.<br />If anyone has information about this act, please let me know.<br />Best<br />David Klein"</span></blockquote>
<br />
A couple of things bother me about this email. First, I'm disappointed by the action that caused this email to be sent out in the first place. That should probably go without saying. The part that bothered me a bit more, though, is how incredibly vague the email was. Not only do I <i>not</i> know what the message actually was, but I don't know who it was aimed at. My immediate first thought was that it was an anti-gay message. I was ready to condemn the students (yet again) for the intolerance I've experienced since I started this school. I was shocked to find out, though, that the message was actually one of racial intolerance. For some reason, I thought that the school was actually getting past this sort of hate and immaturity.<br />
<br />
I was even more shocked to find out that a friend of mine--an African American friend, at that--was the first to report seeing the message. As soon as I found out that he was the one who found it, I asked him if I could interview him for this article. I'm pleased to say that he agreed, so I sent him some questions, and he gave me some responses. What follows, now, is my interview with Kerrington Shields, Class of 2014.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Walter:</b> <i>What were you doing the night you found the "message of intolerance"?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Kerrington: </b> I was watching a movie with my friend in Venable basement and I went to use the bathroom and saw it sprayed on the wall in shaving cream.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W:</b> <i>What was your first thought when you found it? What did it say? </i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>I was upset when I found it. I like to think that this is an accepting community in which I could feel comfortable, but when I saw "F*** N******" on the wall I was disconcerted to say the least.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W:</b> <i>Did it surprise or shock you to find the message?</i></span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K:</b> I'm not necessarily surprised that there are people with racist sentiments in our community, but I am surprised that somebody felt comfortable enough to do that. I don't want to walk past someone on campus and have to wonder whether or not that particular person condones such behavior. It significantly damages one's sense of community. My greatest feeling was disappointment; we are Hampden-Sydney brothers and something like this should never happen again.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W:</b> <i>What did you do after you found the message?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K:</b> I didn't really know what to do at the time. It ruined my night. I went back and showed my friend a picture of it and then told him that I had to go back to my dorm. I took the expression personally even though it wasn't meant specifically for me; but that's the thing about racism and intolerance, it ignores the merits of every individual and insults them for no reason.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W: </b><i>Is this the first time you have experienced this type of intolerance on campus?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>I'd heard plenty of stories from my friends about racism on this campus, but I always tried to shut it out of my mind. What I saw written on that bathroom wall that night made it nearly impossible to do that anymore. It was the first explicitly racist encounter that I've had on this campus.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W:</b> <i>I've personally been on the receiving end of hate enough here at H-SC. Plenty of name calling (Fag and gay and such). Do you ever experience discrimination from classmates or from </i>anyone<i> on campus (even in small doses)?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>There's nothing concrete that I'd dealt with prior to this occurrence. I received an email last year about an expression of intolerance, but I couldn't really understand the gravity of such an 'expression' until I was confronted with one.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W:</b> <i>How did you feel about Dean Klein's address to campus? Was it adequate in dealing with the situation?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K:</b> I think it was adequate, however I think it would help if the email specified the type of intolerance (racial, homophobic, etc.). In fact, the email should simply say that there was a 'racist expression' or a 'homophobic expression.' I also believe that occurrences such as these should be mentioned in the newspaper every time that they occur.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W: </b><i>Do you feel like the administration takes these matters seriously enough?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K: </b>I've no idea how the administration handles this type of situation so I can't really say. I just hope that they get the word out about these kinds of things. It doesn't seem to me that many people on this campus knew anything about this incident. Problems like this don't just go away; they must be confronted.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W:</b> <i>I was told you took a picture of the message. Would you like the photo to appear on my blog?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K:</b> I'll email you the picture; you can use it if you want to.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>W: </b><i>Do you have anything else you might like to add or say about this matter?</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>K:</b> First, I'd like to thank my friends for the support that they gave me during this time; it's not something that I received a lot of in high school. This is a great community and I am proud to be a Hampden-Sydney man. As a Christian, I'd like to say to whoever did this that I forgive him and hope that he repudiates the pernicious and offensive words that he wrote on that wall. It took me two days to be able to say that; I am still in the process of moving on.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Thank you so much Kerrington, for helping me get this out there. You said a lot of really powerful things that I'd like to draw special attention to.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"Problems like this don't just go away; they must be confronted"</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"I couldn't really understand the gravity of such an 'expression' until I was confronted with one"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"that's the thing about racism and intolerance, it ignores the merits of every individual and insults them for no reason."</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"It would help if the email specified the type of intolerance"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"It significantly damages one's sense of community"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>"It ruined my night"</i></span><br />
<br />
Hampden-Sydney brags about the sense of community that we build here, but it is exactly times like these that make me doubt the validity of a "Hampden-Sydney Brotherhood." I like to believe that the community we are trying to build here can work, but there are certain problems that seriously need to be corrected. As Kerrington said, we need to confront these issues. WE can't just pussy-foot around them with vague emails that say "an expression of intolerance" was found on campus. I understand that, to the majority of campus, this isn't going to seem like a big deal, but what if it was <i>you</i>? What if it was your night that was ruined? What if it was you who felt personally victimized by another student? If we are to be a true brotherhood, then we need to consider the position of our brothers and feel empathy for one another. When a problem like this affects one of us, or a part of us, if should affect <i>all of us</i>. This "expression" not only makes the express-er look bad, but it also reflects negatively on the entire campus, the entire brotherhood, and the entire <i>idea</i> of Hampden-Sydney College.<br />
<br />
In closing, I'd like to just say a couple more things. Firstly, I have decided <i>against</i> posting the picture that Kerrington sent me. We know now what the message said, but seeing it myself made me feel pretty pissed, myself. Now maybe I'm wrong in withholding it, but I just cannot bring myself to post it right now. Secondly, to the author of the "expression of intolerance"-- You should be ashamed. Seriously. I hope that you get a chance to read this. I hope that you get a chance to see that you've hurt a brother. I hope that you get the chance to see that you've hurt a brother who is such a good person that he is willing to forgive you, even if I don't personally think you deserve it. Finally, I hope that you grow up. I hope that during your time here you might develop into a better person. I hope that you <i>learn</i>.<br />
<br />
Thank you all for reading. I appreciate it, and I'm sure that Kerrington does, as well.<br />
<br />
--Your Editor, Walter McCoyWalthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10390409898667650690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-29171111880483650352012-09-07T17:04:00.001-04:002012-09-07T17:04:59.262-04:00My musings on C-DayDear Sweet, Beautiful, Patient, Readers,<br />
<br />
I've had several of you ask me when I'm going to be posting my perspective of C-Day. I do realize that C-Day was on Tuesday, and it is already Friday afternoon as I type this, but the truth of the matter is this: I could not write a response so soon. Why, you might ask?<br />
<br />
Simple: C-Day was a disaster, a clusterfuck, and a complete waste of time.<br />
<br />
The reason I didn't write this article on Tuesday is because it would have literally been that last sentence repeated over and over again. By the end of Tuesday, September 4th, I was in a bad state. I had spent the day trying <i>so hard</i> to believe it was all going to be okay, only for it to collapse into awfulness.<br />
<br />
I'm feeling a bit more collected now, though. I've had time to regain my senses, think, and review the day for what it was. That being said, I still feel about the same, but now I believe I can manage to put it into words that can be spoken in front of impressionable children or in polite society.<br />
<br />
A quick warning: My experience is limited to what I personally did during the day, so I can't say that I speak for everyone. Of course, when have I <i>ever</i> spoken for everyone? Regardless, I'll break up my analysis based on the events as they happened for me.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Convocation</span><br />
The day started out with me waking up way too early. I had the strangest dream that I had received an important memo via email about the procedure for seniors that were walking during convo. Oh wait, that was no dream: I had received an email about 2 weeks ago. Of course, I forgot, so I rushed and showed up--I thought--about 20 minutes late. As it should so happen, though, I wasn't the only one who forgot the memo. Most of the guys I talked to had either "not received an memo" or forgot it themselves.<br />
<br />
Convocation went well enough. It was hot, Dr. Howard opened the speeches by proclaiming that God must, in fact, be a Tiger. *holds for snickers* I couldn't help but notice the lack of sophomores and juniors at the events, but hey, who can blame them?<br />
<br />
Despite my complete cynicism, though, some of the speeches (particularly the student speeches) were actually pretty good. My favorite part (and please forgive my memory, but I can't recall the student the said it), was when the honor code was applied to the individual: The idea there is that each of us should never lie to ourselves, never cheat ourselves of possibilities, and never steal from....ourselves. I gotta say, I was moved, and spent the next few minutes wondering why I was still attending HSC. Have I been lying to myself? The truth is, yes. I do lie to myself, frequently, but I do it to survive. I pretend like everything is peachy and that people are capable of change, and not really worthy of the contempt I often have for them, but unfortunately, It's not all peachy, and people can be pretty damn awful.<br />
<br />
Of course, I'm not leaving this place. Screw that. I've only got the one year left here, and then I'm off to brighter horizons!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Class Speaker</span><br />
This is where the day took a nose dive straight into the heart of the shit-storm. I have to say, I did not think too strongly of Mr. Thaddeus R. Shelly III of the class of 1975. His discussion on prostitution and pimping--I mean <i>Marketing Myself When My Product is Me</i>-- was filled with the same type of useless drivel that I've been hearing about since my first year in high school about the interviewing process. Quite unfortunately, this was the only part of the presentation that I thought might be useful to an average human. Even <i>that</i> would've been fine, though, if it weren't for the 40 minutes of the presentation that were spent self-glorifying himself and insulting the audience. Naturally, since Mr. Shelly (I'll break here to mention that rule number one is that you are absolutely forbidden to call Mr. Shelly anything <i>but</i> Mr. Shelly unless he invites you to do so.) Since Mr. Shelly is the CEO of Lazard Wealth Management, it is only natural that he would be talking about the business world. Unfortunately, Not only is HSC <i>not</i> a business school, but a lot of the people around me had no intention of entering said business world. For that reason, the message was pretty much lost on me.<br />
<br />
To make matters worse, though, I actually paid attention to his one-sided discussion. Aside from my horror at the poor images in his power point (C is for Crappy ClipArt!), I also became subject to his criticism of the capacity of any individual to succeed on his own. "None of you will ever succeed in life if you do not talk to me first." That's the message that I took away from his speech. Now, I do not personally know Mr. Shelly, and I'm sure that he is a decent human being who is only looking out for his fellow man. I'm sure he wants everyone to be able to get jobs---oh wait...what? Oh. He's thoroughly supports outsourcing his jobs? Oh....that's fine too. So even if we <i>do</i> come talk to you, we wont get it...no no...that's fine. We'll manage. . .<br />
<br />
I almost walked out of this event. it was a waste of my time and patience. From what I hear, I wasn't the only person who felt this way. Now, I don't have any pure evidence aside from trusted witness testimonials, but I hear that the Junior Class Speaker, a Mr. Joe Ehrmann, was able to get away with saying the only purpose that women serve at Hampden-Sydney College is to be subservient to the men. I really hope that this was misinterpreted, but I wouldn't be surprised if this type of misogynistic statement was endorsed by the school. It wouldn't be the first time. (Also, I have more on that topic later. That has to be an entire post itself).<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Community Lunch</span><br />
..was exactly like lunch on any other day of the week, with only a couple notable differences. The main difference is that, as I walked down the stairs into the commons, I was oddly reminded of <i>Attack of the Clones</i>: everywhere I looked, there were white-shirted clone-spawns mulling about. Despite my horror at the blatant violation of the "No white after Labor Day" law, I was able to get over the fact that every freshman was dressed the same by rationalizing it: C-Day is all about Conformity, so obviously they should all be dressed the same. We need to Celebrate (one of the "C-Themes") our most diverse class ever by making them all look alike!<br />
<br />
The food was good, though, and I really can't complain about anything aside from the creepy freshman cultists and the over crowded room (C is for Creepy, Cults, and Crowds).<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">"Career"</span><br />
I worked really hard to get my presentation for my quest station together. Dr. Weese, though, worked even harder. I was really excited for what we had going: we were both presenting on film. Dr. Weese was looking at cinematic techniques, and I would be analyzing film as a literary text. We were all set to go and excited to see some students. And so we waited.<br />
<br />
and waited.<br />
<br />
and waited some more.<br />
<br />
Eventually a group of five students showed up: friends of mine that I'd asked to come see our presentation. I'm thankful for them coming to see it, but unfortunately it didn't really improve my mood. I had stressed myself out to prepared for C-Day, and for no end.<br />
<br />
Now, from what I hear, <i>other</i> booths got some attention. I attribute our failure to our location at the top of Winston. Students can't be bothered to go upstairs, anyway.<br />
<br />
At least I managed to complete my honors proposal during all of the downtime. I just wish all of our hard work hadn't gone to waste. . .<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Club Fair/ Community Dinner</span><br />
Every year during Freshman Orientation there is a Pig-On-The-Point dinner where the clubs get to set up tables to promote themselves, and the community gets to enjoy a pork dinner outside. This year, because the school was afraid of the rain that never came, the event was moved indoors. SO every club at HSC was forced to cram into the cramped space upstairs in Settle Hall. Although both of my club tables received a lot of signatures, the event gave me a tremendous headache. One couldn't hear in there, especially over the raffle announcements that were being projected every five minutes or so. Also, I never got to enter the raffle. The hell is up with that? Oh well. Life (HSC) isn't always (ever) fair.<br />
<br />
My day ended at the dinner. I had a serious need to escape back to my room. I know plenty of people took the day off to stay in their rooms, and I wish now that I had done the same.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Conclusion</span><br />
A short note on the "C-Themes" and I'll wrap this up, I promise.<br />
<br />
<b>Convocation</b>: We did, indeed, come together to celebrate achievement, but my "communal bond" to this hell hole is weaker now that ever before, and I have absolutely no desire to "Reaffirm" (or just "affirm") a "commitment to the Hampden-Sydney mission".<br />
<br />
<b>Calling:</b> I have yet to hear of anyone taking any of that introspection stuff seriously. I tried--didn't work. I think the best display of students considering their "interests, skills, and passions" were those students who stayed in their rooms playing <i>Call of Duty</i> all day.<br />
<br />
<b>Caree</b>r: I noticed that the Tiger tracks sessions seemed a bit more involved that the Quest Stations, so taht's a positive note. And by working on my honors proposal, I was certainly able to work on my Career as a student. So....plus?<br />
<br />
<b>Community:</b> I think the Freshman service projects would've been a lot better if they had bright orange shirts instead of those white things. Then they would've looked like they felt: prisoners. I talked to ten different freshmen about that part of the day, and they all agreed to skip the projects. "Why would you skip, though? Surely you'd like to help your community, right?" The answers I got varied between "I just got here. It's not my community yet," and my favorite: "I care, but I refuse to be forced to volunteer. If I volunteer, it will be on my terms, not the institution's."<br />
<br /><b>Ceremony</b>: I must have failed to recognize the importance of formal events. Maybe sweating in my graduation robes for a non-graduation purpose was discouraging me.<br />
<br />
<b>Celebration:</b> I celebrated the end of the day, does that count?<br />
<br />
Thus ends my rant on C-Day. My personal advice: don't waste your time with this next year. Seriously. I don't think it helped. For me, in particular, it actually hurt the way I feel about this school. Plus, I didn't win an iPad (not that I really expected to.) Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />
--Your Editor (who is finally relieved to have this all off his chest)<br />
-Walter McCoyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-19423218342725293632012-09-04T00:32:00.001-04:002012-09-04T00:32:37.332-04:00Pre-C-Day SentimentsGood Morning, Readers.<br />
<br />
It is about midnight the morning before Hampden-Sydney C-Day. I'm writing to let you know that no matter what my sentiments after C-Day, I will be writing an honest review of the day. My current sentiments, however, are what keep me awake now. I felt that it would be best to allow the reader the advantage of knowing how I feel about "C-Day" <i>before hand</i>, just so you will all know my expectations going into this ordeal.<br />
<br />
First of all, I hate the idea. I think it's rubbish. 90% of the campus doesn't even know what it is even about, and I don't think anyone has really tried very hard to explain it. So poor planning is my first expectation.<br />
<br />
Secondly, I don't like the idea of listening to some CEO alumni preach to me about prostitution, or pimping, or whatever "Marketing Myself When My Product Is Me" is supposed to mean. If there were more options, then fine, but God forbid I listen to drivel of this kind for an hour (at least it <i>is</i> only supposed to be an hour.<br />
<br />
Complaint three: despite the attempt to bring the community together, the C-Day program hypocritically separates the four classes as though we are not all brothers here at HSC (not that I believe students act like it, but still....IDEAS!). I am a senior this year and I have had three previous years of engagement with my fellow classmates to know that I really don't care to know too many more of them. The majority of the good-natured friends that I have made here are currently Juniors and Sophomores, all of whom intend to skip C-Day. If we're striving for community, can we please try to make it the <i>whole</i> community?<br />
<br />
I have many other complaints, but I have to wake up early so I can walk to the complete opposite side of campus and wear a robe in front of a bunch of people who also don't want to be there. I will leave this last note, though: I am really hopeful that my opinion will be changed. C-Day has the express potential to actually be a really great event and I fully intend to go forth with a positive, optimistic attitude. If my hopes are dashed, then expect to hear as much on the next post. If those hopes, however, prove valid, then expect to read a note that expresses not my complete cynicism toward HSC life, but instead a message saying "Good Job, Chris Howard. Good Job, HSC. Kudos!"<br />
<br />
Good Night and good reading, my friends.<br />
<br />
--Your Editor.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-63304141195906930252012-08-29T15:14:00.002-04:002012-10-11T18:38:37.340-04:00To the new Dining HallHello readers.<br />
<br />
Many of you, I'm sure, have had a chance to eat at the dining hall at least once this year.<br />
--and by <i>eat</i> in the dining hall, I really mean <i>stand in line</i>.<br />
<br />
Today, unfortunately, was a bit of a --pardon the phrase--clusterfuck of ill planning. Particularly during the 12:30pm lunch period. I will optimistically assume that it was just because they were unaware of what a crowd it would be, but let's get serious: MWF lunches at that time have been overcrowded for years.<br />
<br />
Well, anyway, rather than waiting for changes to be made without any of my input, I decided to give some feedback to the dining hall. I really hope they don't hate me for it, but if they do, then hey: that's my life.<br />
<br />
Here's the letter I wrote. I figured some of my readers might enjoy it.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">"This is my fourth year at HSC, so I've had plenty experience with the dining hall under the dark reign of Aramark. I was pleased to learn that my senior year would be ruled over by a new service, and looked forward to this prospect. My first few days back, too, before classes started, I was pleased with what I saw: Fresh, tasty food (food which actually looked like food), a clean tasteful atmosphere, and attractive presentation. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">I was a bit skeptical, though. Despite how much I enjoyed those first couple of days, I had a horrible suspicion dwelling in the pit of my stomach--I quickly realized that all of these attractive features of a dining hall came at a price: speed. In olden days, all that was required was a quick plate-bun-patty-bun-fries maneuver to get food out to the waiting students. Now, however, it seems like the food has yet to be cooked, and THEN must be plated neatly and fashionably in a paper-lined basket before it can be placed under the heat lamps for the students to grab.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, I appreciate that you at least appear to care about what food is being served to us students, but I find myself in a bind. I am a very busy student (it IS my senior year, after all), and I am on a tight schedule. While I was in the dining hall today, I waited ten minutes before any food even appeared at the grill station (only one of the stations plagued by this catastrophe), and when this basket of food was taken, it was a good five minutes more before another basket showed up. Since I was in a rush, I just grabbed some pizza, ate it, and left. This tiny meal is not really enough to feed me on a good day, and it has not been a good day. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">My feedback, then, is this: please do not sacrifice speed for presentation. Our HSC dining hall isn't really a restaurant and has never been the greatest food on the planet, but at least it has fed us with time to spare so that we may continue on our way. I have high hopes that service will improve as time progresses, but I felt the need to say something now, anyway. Just keep in mind that great food and great presentation mean nothing to us if we are not able to obtain the food due to long lines.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">I really do appreciate everything, though, and hope that my feedback doesn't seem too negative.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's hoping for a great year, </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Walter McCoy, Class of 2013"</span></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
I just sent this off, so hopefully we'll see some changes soon. In the meantime, if you feel as passionately as I do about not dying of starvation, feel free to send the dining hall some feedback about their performance! <a href="http://www.dineoncampus.com/hsc/show.cfm?cmd=comments" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> to do so.<br />
<br />
Stay Strong, readers!<br />
--Your Editor<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">UPDATE</span><br />
So, recently my blog was linked to on a Fox News article titled "<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/10/02/worst-colleges-for-foodies/?intcmp=features">Worst colleges for foodies</a>." I'm not terribly bothered by the fact that they linked to my material without considering asking me about the article or whatever, but I <i>am </i>a bit perturbed at the way they paint the picture. Fox News based their ratings on the Princeton Review (without actually linking a source, mind you), which was published in August. According to Fox News, the Princeton Review ranked Hampden-Sydney the #4 worst college for food in the country. What Fox News <i>didn't</i> mention or point out, though, is that the Princeton Review published in August was a review of <i>last year's dining service</i>. While their article does point out that we changed from Aramark to Thompson Hospitality, they never once make a point to acknowledge that the review does not speak for this year's food service quality.<br />
<br />
That being said, the article drew a LOT of attention to my blog (over 500 hits in a single day!). Unfortunately, this commotion also started on the same day where I posted an article about <a href="http://hscu.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-expression-of-intolerance.html">the recent hate crime on campus</a>, an article which, sadly, isn't being read nearly as much as this unimportant one about food. Additionally, the publicity reflected negatively on the dining hall itself, and to the people running it. I personally feel at fault, too, for having not updated this article at all.<br />
<br />
Anyway, the day this all started, I got a text message from Darryl Rudge, the director of Thompson Hospitality. He asked if he could speak with me about my dining experience during the year. Of course, I immediately felt guilty--the only reason he would think to contact me is if he had read my article. Well I spoke with him, and we had a good conversation about the things that I thought were really done well. I also told him that I was planning to update this entry (which I am doing now).<br />
<br />
The point of this update, then, is really to provide an update of how I have experienced the changes in the food service. Since I wrote the last article, my main complaint (the long lines) has essentially vanished. I hardly ever end up waiting in lines anymore. Additionally, they've managed to cut the time waiting in lines <i>without</i> sacrificing the presentability of the food. The food is well cooked, looks great, tastes fantastic, and is something that I would gladly wait for if I even still had to wait for it. The staff is great, and I actually enjoy eating in there now (something I couldn't really say about Aramark).<br />
<br />
Mr. Rudge also seemed really interested about what I had to say about how the service compared to the service under what I referred to as the "Dark Reign of Aramark." I told him that Aramark had a very assembly-line approach to service: the food was in "buckets", (which was really the only word I could come up with), the staff was often disinterested and unfriendly (with some exceptions, of course), and food was rarely palatable. Since Thompson Hospitality took over, I can't even imagine referring to the dining hall as "The Moans" anymore.<br />
<br />
To conclude, I just want to make it clear that the dining service this year is actually rather fantastic, and I think Fox News is less so. Thanks for reading!!<br />
<br />
--Your Editor.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-4819839445126372062012-08-26T01:10:00.000-04:002012-08-26T01:10:19.458-04:00Orientation: Day 1Welcome back to the start of a grand new school year. The rain came down in sheets, the dopey looks on the faces of the new flock brought something that resembled joy to my heart, and I even got a chance to speak/otherwise corrupt the masses. Today I spoke at the alcohol awareness/substance abuse presentation called "Molecules that Monkey with your Mind". As usual the presentation was fantastic. To no surprise, the most audience-receptive parts of the presentation were the parts involving sex or a monkey video--good to see HSC still thrives at what it's good at.<br />
<br />
God I sound cynical.<br />
<br />
Anyway, As I said, I got the chance to speak, and I promised some people that I would share my little speech on the site. <i>Unfortunately</i> I didn't print out what I read, so I just winged it. My delivery, according to my roommate's brother was "not perfect, but not terrible." I'm just going to copy what I wrote in this post: it has the same meaning and is just better worded. Besides, I can't even remember what I <i>actually</i> said. So here it is:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ya know, they told us we should keep these stories concise and to the point, and that we should avoid rambling. Well I’m awful at both of those, so I just wrote down what I have to say. My name is Walter McCoy. Some know me as “Flash”. I’m a senior here, English Major, double minor in theatre and creative writing. When Shawn [White] suggested that I give my story, it was with the idea that I would represent the “Independent” type of student. I don’t really agree with that though, and here’s why: My freshman year was rough. I was shy. I wasn’t very good at making friends. I became very susceptible to bullying. By the end of my first semester I had dealt with the same types of immature bullying that you would expect from high schoolers. My second semester was much better, and by the end I had even had a paper vandalized with hateful messages. I almost didn’t come back, and I think that’s probably understandable. I did come back, though, and that’s because, despite the bullying I’d received, I still managed to make a few friends. My freshman year taught me that although I was a bit of a misfit nerd that didn’t drink, I could still find a niche. My sophomore year, I decided to do something to change my Hampden-Sydney experience. I talked to Shawn [White] and got started with The Student Network, which we just called “The Mentor Program” at the time. The idea was that I could prevent new students from having the same experience as me. The take-away message that I want to leave for you guys right now is this: look around you. Hampden-Sydney has this big stigma about how it is an all-male school with a whole bunch of people who are just like one another. The truth though is that, despite your similarities, each of you are individual, independent students. The best piece of advice that I can give is that you should always remember who you are. It sounds cheesy, I know, but seriously: don’t change who you are or act differently just because you want to fit a stigma. Just because HSC is known to be a drinking college, it doesn’t mean you have to drink all the time. Just because guys here will occasionally use certain substances, it doesn’t mean that you need to do so to fit in. I stand here now—a student here for four years, a nerd, perpetually broke, non-athletic, gay—and I think I manage to fit in here just as well as anyone else can. If you ever need someone to talk to you or help you, I will help you no matter who you are; even if we’re from completely different walks of life. That’s what the student network is about: We are all different, but we are all still a part of the same student body, the same network of students. Thank you.</span></blockquote>
Well that's the gist of my "Speech to the Freshmen". There were some receptive laughs when I mentioned the fact that I wasn't straight, but whatever. I do what I want. Plus, I'm a senior now, so I really just ready to lay the beat down on anyone who tries to give me any shit this year...In a completely metaphorical sense, of course.<br />
<br />
That's all I got for today. Will post more later!<br />
<br />
--Your Editor<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-7791522152311382602012-07-20T16:20:00.000-04:002012-07-20T16:20:46.039-04:00"The tayle of Oxford", or "Why I seem to be really lazy about posting stuff on this blog"Dear Sweet Readers,<br />
<br />
It's been quite a while since I've posted anything on this blog. There are multiple reasons for this:<br />
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<li>I'm lazy as hell.</li>
<li>It's summer, and I'm not at HSC.</li>
<li>It's summer, so I actually <i>miss</i> the school, rather than loathe it.</li>
<li>I'm studying at Oxford because the school has allowed me to.</li>
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It's this last point that I want to talk about. Now if you've been reading my posts, it's fairly obvious that I hold a bit of a grudge against this hell hole. In all honest, though, my feelings for Hampden-Sydney College are kind of complex. While I <i>do</i> disagree with a lot of what goes on at the school, I can't help but be thankful that it has given me so much. Apart from all the money the foot for me to go there, they also basically paid for this whole trip that I am on. AND I'M AT FREAKIN' OXFORD UNIVERSITY! That's cool stuff. And all I paid for was the plane ticket. </div>
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I guess what I'm trying to say is, the school isn't absolute shit. If you come, you'll either have a great time, or not, but it's really what you make out of it, yourself, that makes this place. </div>
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On that note, I'm actually going out. I had this on my mind to write, and figured I would do so before I went to the pub, but hey! SO I'll just leave you all with this last parting gift:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwws13JuID0OHQ4FhgIz_TCxVYPJ4HLYHFxzEnGasUnLlOBFlVwP0i68e0N5GV0OJx3C2EjCQFau3JvUQxRIg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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This is a video of me doing admission propaganda. Even though it sounds pretty cheesy, I did mean all the things I said in it. (Of course, the cut out all the stuff about me hating people...but that's understandable).<br /><br />I hope that you are all enjoying your summers, and I'll see you when next I see you!</div>
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--Your editor</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-68107345861158693672012-04-21T17:43:00.002-04:002012-08-24T13:24:02.291-04:0010 Most Unique Men's Rooms at HSC<br />
Dear Readers,<br />
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I've had a couple professors read my blog, then come up to me and ask if I'm really as depressed and upset about this place as I sound. Well yes, I do kinda hate this place. But at the same time, I've had a lot of great experiences here and I wouldn't trade that for the world. Since people have been worried, I decided I'd do a more <i>light-hearted</i> post. So here it is: The Ten Most Unique Men's Toilets at HSC!<br />
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In no particular order....<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Winston, Second Floor</u></span><br />
The first of our special bathrooms is in a place that I can't imagine too many people have ever gone, unless you are a music student. If you have ever found your way to the rear of Winston Hall, ascended the stairs that seem like they are about to separate from the building, and needed to use a bathroom, here's the one for you!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KHQepBIpEgA/T5MZ6p5HWdI/AAAAAAAAAIs/8s2lYwZh0L4/s1600/100_2690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KHQepBIpEgA/T5MZ6p5HWdI/AAAAAAAAAIs/8s2lYwZh0L4/s200/100_2690.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
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You'll find yourself strolling along the hall upstairs, and find the bathroom marked "MEN". No women's room up here, of course. Not at Hampden-Sydney! Of course, let's see what's behind Door Number 1!<br />
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BEHOLD! Behind the bathroom door are <i>2 more doors</i>. I cannot tell you how many times I've tried to go straight to the next door, only to find it locked. I can only assume that it's a utility closet of some kind. Anyway, the bathroom, itself is through the left door.<br />
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Still, despite the confusing entrance, my favorite part of this bathroom has to be this rather threatening sign that has been hanging on the door for a while. It's an empty threat, of course, but who knows? Maybe one of these two doors <i>will</i> lock one day!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Winston, Main Floor (?)</u></span></div>
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As long as we're already in Winston Hall, we may as well talk about that frustrating bathroom that is hated, I'm sure, by anyone who has had to go down there. The door stands near the main entrance and....ya know what? Let me just take you through a tour:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEs2eMuYL3o/T5Mb3BKNEDI/AAAAAAAAAJE/zUfoWjfz81k/s1600/100_2684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qEs2eMuYL3o/T5Mb3BKNEDI/AAAAAAAAAJE/zUfoWjfz81k/s320/100_2684.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mBpSqLkJ2-Y/T5Mb4U9kZZI/AAAAAAAAAJM/QGmNnTtRVG8/s1600/100_2685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mBpSqLkJ2-Y/T5Mb4U9kZZI/AAAAAAAAAJM/QGmNnTtRVG8/s320/100_2685.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Looking from top left to bottom right, we get the brave journey into the pits of HELL! That's right. In order to use the toilets down here in Tartarus you must open the door, descend a bunch of stairs, then proceed through two <i>additional </i>doors before you can even get in there. This bathroom terrifies me. It's like a nightmare down here. There's graffiti aplenty, and I know that it is occasionally used by naughty boys looking for hiding places (sorry to rat you out, guys, but walking-in on your antics <i>twice</i> is enough for me...).</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>John's Auditorium: Lobby</u></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQaKGF2KuY8/T5Mdn5Zd2NI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/TwLv7VQlRY8/s1600/100_2698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sQaKGF2KuY8/T5Mdn5Zd2NI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/TwLv7VQlRY8/s320/100_2698.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ah, yes. Look at our beautiful Hampden-Sydney Theatre, home to uncomfortable and broken seats, a sad, sad, small stage, and the hardest working students you'll ever see on campus. Our odd bathroom here resides in the lobby. You may, in fact, be able to tell from the photo above that, there <i>is</i> a Ladies Room, but..huh...where's that men's room? Oh.</div>
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There it is. Oh wait....A cloak room? This is just a coat closet! maybe it's....<br />
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THERE IT IS! It was hiding in the closet the entire time! Huh...That's funny...A Men's Room, <i>hiding in the closet</i>....<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>John's Auditorium, Studio Theatre</u></span></div>
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Meanwhile, in another part of John's.... Welcome to the Studio Theatre Classroom. We have our own little stage set up in here with a curtain and everything. And what's behind the curtain?</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97CfFHBRCrk/T5Mguk_E8CI/AAAAAAAAAKc/G7DpBSUT5kU/s1600/100_2696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-97CfFHBRCrk/T5Mguk_E8CI/AAAAAAAAAKc/G7DpBSUT5kU/s320/100_2696.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well I'll be! Behind the curtain, a chalkboard, and a couple couches, there's actually a bathroom back here. Now, this bathroom isn't notoriously different because of it's design. Sure, it's built under the stairs that lead to the upstairs classroom, and <i>sure</i> there are exposed water pipes in there, and <i>of course</i> every time you flush, you can hear it in the sink, but what's so wrong about this bathroom?</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NVVuVNlmb3Q/T5MhK8GciNI/AAAAAAAAAKk/LBi-YgTz8Xc/s1600/100_2697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NVVuVNlmb3Q/T5MhK8GciNI/AAAAAAAAAKk/LBi-YgTz8Xc/s320/100_2697.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh yeah. That. That bucket of beer cans and wine bottles that has been slowly growing for a couple years now. Yes yes yes. We theatre folk are notorious for our love of wine. Dionysus <i>was</i> the God of Theatre and Wine, right? Anyway, there's always <i>something</i> interesting in this bathroom, be it manikins, wine bottles, coolers of unopened drinks, YOU NAME IT! Now ask yourself, does this happen in <i>your</i> bathroom?</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Graham Hall</u></span></div>
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I love our post office. It has a very nice atmosphere. It's kept clean, and tidy, and there's even a coffee shop. The entrance to the bathrooms here is even well labeled: </div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Oe-qVv6_lNA/T5Mh-9_ByGI/AAAAAAAAAKs/Pxpj3Zx0RaI/s320/100_2704.JPG" width="240" />So what is so special about the bathroom here, you might ask? It's not messy, it's not in a poor location. It's not oddly designed. And there's even a women's room too! To be completely honest, this is my favorite bathroom on campus. It has everything you could ask for: A Sink, a mirror, paper towels, or an electric hand-drier if you would prefer, a toilet, AND there's even a nifty sitting chair in their, too, so that your friends can sit with you when you take the Browns to the Superbowl....</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oK1YGZpO11A/T5Misb9sIVI/AAAAAAAAAK0/PVMDZj3E5W8/s1600/100_2710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oK1YGZpO11A/T5Misb9sIVI/AAAAAAAAAK0/PVMDZj3E5W8/s320/100_2710.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Gilmer Hall, Main Floor</u></span></div>
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Being an English Major, I'm not really in Gilmer too terribly often. I do remember having to come in there one day, though, to relieve myself. Everything was going well. I found the door labeled "MEN", opened it, but then found this: </div>
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dafuq? Some clever troll decided it would be funny to build a stall partition <i>at the door</i>. Are you serious? I had to double-take, just to make sure I hadn't lost my mind.</div>
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Nope. Nope. There it is. One stall, built right there at the door. <i>Marvelous</i>. I will say, though, that this bathroom has some of the most interesting graffiti on campus:</div>
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It must've been some <i>good</i> business. I gotta say, though, kudos to whoever continues putting <i>The Stall Street Journal</i> in the slot with the graffiti there, still...</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Bagby, Third Floor</u></span></div>
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Oh, Bagby. I rarely have classes here, but I do remember taking my RPE on the third floor. About halfway through the test, I had to relieve myself from some pent-up anxiety and too much water. So I made my way into the hall to find a Men's Room.</div>
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Ah! Here it is! It's right beside the Women's Room, so it must be the men's room....</div>
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WHAT!?! Yeah. I remember being <i>damn surprised</i> to open the door and find a janitor's closet.</div>
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Well, As it should happen, there's no Men's bathroom on the third floor. Now I'm glad that there's a women's room here. There are female teachers and such, of course, and they need relief, too. I just find it odd that there's actually a place at Hampden-Sydney where women have the advantage over men. So here's a WIN for the ladies. Then again, I hate the clip-art that was used for this sign, so the victory may be slightly tainted....</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Blake A, Student Government Floor</u></span></div>
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The only time I ever have to come here is when it is time for club audits. I must say though, that if you ever find yourself climbing the side-staircase of Blake A, past the photographs of smiling HSC students and as you try not to breathe because of that sour stank in the air, you'll be treated to the epilepsy-inducing light that greets you to the offices of our Student Government blokes. Their bathroom intrigues me because it's <i>camouflaged</i>. </div>
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There is no sign on the door labeling it as a Bathroom. Indeed, when you open the door, you'll notice that it is carpeted in the same way as the rest of the floor.</div>
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But if you look past the <i>posh</i> carpeting and cheesy motivational posters (which are behind glass, as per the orders of the Fire Marshall), then you'll find that this is, indeed, a bathroom:</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>The Tree at the Intersection of Atkinson Ave. and College Rd.</u></span></div>
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On many, many nights of hard partying and debauchery, when students leave the frats, they often feel the need to empty their bladders before they can find a toilet. In an inebriated state, <i>anything</i> can be a toilet. For example, i've seen this particular tree used at least twice: </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X1uwuE63Ghk/T5MoKpVAPJI/AAAAAAAAAMU/FGvp_8aME_w/s1600/100_2708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X1uwuE63Ghk/T5MoKpVAPJI/AAAAAAAAAMU/FGvp_8aME_w/s320/100_2708.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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The above picture is merely an example of what it would look like. This was not an image of me being caught-in-the-act. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>Maples, Main Floor</u></span></div>
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Finally, I bring you the last of our bathroom tour. This particular bathroom is, in my opinion, one of the most bizarre things on campus. It's the bathroom that actually inspired this post. It's something that I noticed my freshman year, and haven't been able to ignore since. Behold, THE TWO TOILET LAVATORY! </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CLNv_yKF8UE/T5Mo4IIgb2I/AAAAAAAAAMc/LQervxkNN68/s1600/100_2682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CLNv_yKF8UE/T5Mo4IIgb2I/AAAAAAAAAMc/LQervxkNN68/s320/100_2682.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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No, your eyes do not deceive you. You are, in fact, looking at a bathroom that has two sit-and-shits sitting right beside one another with no stalls, no divider, no privacy. Whoever came up with this idea must've either been drunk (likely at HSC), High (again, likely), or just very very comfortable with his sexuality (Terribly <i>un</i>likely at HSC).</div>
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On top of this interesting toilet dichotomy, though, we also get a message instructing us on how to be immodest to toilets!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERYfHTaMSQA/T5MpilwE4fI/AAAAAAAAAMk/V-fYr2I3Jc8/s1600/100_2683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERYfHTaMSQA/T5MpilwE4fI/AAAAAAAAAMk/V-fYr2I3Jc8/s320/100_2683.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now I don't know about anyone else, but, when "flashing commodes", the best I typically do is when I'm actually urinating...not after. <i>But if that's what you want, Maples.....</i></div>
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<b>Well I hope</b> that you enjoyed this more amusing post. It was fun to work on, and I can only hope it was fun to read as well. Until next time, stay hardy, readers!</div>
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--Your Editor.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-80527547925757270352012-04-14T11:24:00.001-04:002012-04-14T11:26:37.457-04:00Hampden-Sydney "Honor"This is a story that I've been meaning to write for a long time, and one that I don't think I can finish today. It's about Hampden-Sydney and our Honor system. There is no question that Honor is one of the biggest <i>things</i> about HSC. Unfortunately, I don't think people truly understand what it means. I'm not even sure that <i>I</i> have a clear impression of what "honor" is. I have opinions on what makes a man honorable, but I don't think that there is a cohesive opinion here on campus. This post is going to deal with one tenant of honor that I think is important, and one that I think has been almost completely forgotten: Respect.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V6SjSf5VHjU/T4mLP1-wOsI/AAAAAAAAAIU/ihZv1lmuDfw/s1600/Honor+and+Tradition.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V6SjSf5VHjU/T4mLP1-wOsI/AAAAAAAAAIU/ihZv1lmuDfw/s1600/Honor+and+Tradition.png" /></a></div>
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The screenshot above is taken from hsc.edu, our school's website. As is true with the "Hampden-Sydney way" (As I have personally come to see it), only the end is important: "The Hampden-Sydney student will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do." That is the part of the honor system that I know people remember. And how couldn't we? As a reminder, we are made to write it on every single paper and exam that we turn in! </div>
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But what about the Code of Conduct? <b>"The Hampden-Sydney Student will behave as a gentleman at all times and in all places."</b> This part of our honor system seems to be most often forgotten or ignored. For example, here's an email that I got this morning:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5l54Semdx80/T4mMUnaTbdI/AAAAAAAAAIc/t3KYJ5RRFVc/s1600/respect.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5l54Semdx80/T4mMUnaTbdI/AAAAAAAAAIc/t3KYJ5RRFVc/s640/respect.png" width="640" /></a><br />
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Now, I don't know what this "message of intolerance" was, but <i>welcome to Hampden-Sydney!</i> You mean to tell me that someone within the Hampden-Sydney community conveyed "a message of intolerance"? I am appalled and completely shocked! (only not really...)</div>
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One of the problems, as I see it, is that not enough is being done here. Look at this email, for example. Sure, it was sent out to the whole campus, and it identifies that something was "conveyed", but what was it? Was it a racial slur? Was it an anti-gay message? Was it another penis drawn on a chalkboard?</div>
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I don't know!</div>
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So what do we do with this? "The hurtful words are not representative of our Hampden-Sydney community," but what does that even mean? I don't think the majority of student here even recognize what <i>is</i> appropriate. On a typical day at Hampden-Sydney I hear approximately 6-10 racially themed jokes made outside the presence of racial minorities. Of course they aren't going to be made around students that might be more offended by these jokes, but think: "The Hampden-Sydney Student will behave as a gentleman <u>at all times and in all places.</u>" </div>
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To date, I've heard more gay jokes and slurs at Hampden-Sydney than I ever heard in the four years of High School and three years of Middle School that I attended. Middle/High school students are recognizably immature. When we move to college we are supposed to grow up, right? Well that doesn't happen. And the worst part about people making these sorts of jokes, or saying these offensive things is that, more often than not, <i>they do not know that they are offending anyone</i>. </div>
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Students here are not taught to recognize when something is offensive. It is left up to our best judgment. The judgment of a typical Hampden-Sydney student isn't that great--if all the alcohol and substance abuse related cases haven't already taught us that, then we are doomed. So when things like this are left up to the student, of course it's not going to work. Sure, students will know to avoid doing <i>something</i>, but what is that <i>something</i> that they must avoid?</div>
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Now for an anecdote: I'll take you back to my freshman year at Hampden-Sydney. This was a rough year for me. I came into school as an openly gay student. I didn't parade it around or anything, but I didn't hide it either--I was determined that I wouldn't hide that part of myself, and I wouldn't allow it to control me, either. As it should turn out, I was too optimistic. Throughout the year I was assaulted a couple times (ranging from "a shove to the ground" to "we're drunk and we're gonna give you some bruises"). I was victim to social torment practically every day from my classmates who were overjoyed to have a "faggot" to make fun of. I didn't have many friends, and still have few friends within my graduating class. Most of the friends that I have now are, likewise social rejects in one way or another (no offense to you guys, if you're reading this). By the end of the first semester, I was ready to leave, but stayed--"It'll get better", I thought. Second semester, I was met with the same issues, but I grew to get past it and avoid the trouble. By the end of the semester, I had less trouble: <i>just</i> a vandalized paper ("FAG" written across the front) and a few stolen/destroyed possessions. </div>
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Is this the type of freshman year that students can be expected to have? I don't think most students have these issues, but I have heard stories of other harassment on campus. These things happen, and it's a real problem on campus. Things have gotten better for me, specifically, since freshman year just because I've learned to deal with them better. But I'm terrified that another freshman will come in next year, or may even be here now, and he will have the same sort of problems that I've had.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>So what can we do about this problem?</u></b></span></div>
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To be honest, I haven't got a clue. I've mostly lost hope for this place. I've considered leaving every day since I got here, but my financial aid keeps me here. I do have on idea as to what might help us, though.</div>
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I believe that people need to be more informed. Things happen here that no one ever hears about. Like in that email, we don't even know what happened. I seriously doubt people have heard about my vandalism incident (even though it was reported), and even fewer still will know about the assault that I endured. Most of the people here probably think things are just <i>super</i>. Guys come in here, they drink and sleep their way through classes, they cuss and insult each other, they frat and haze, they break laws and have a good time, and then they leave. Like nothing ever happened. Nothing gained but a diploma, nothing lost but some brain cells. </div>
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But if Hampden-Sydney still claims that they've been<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BcNUkql3pR4/T4mT3818E6I/AAAAAAAAAIk/wmYb8nQlobQ/s1600/forming+good+men.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="24" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BcNUkql3pR4/T4mT3818E6I/AAAAAAAAAIk/wmYb8nQlobQ/s320/forming+good+men.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then we need to start doing something about actually teaching the students about what is okay and what is <i>not</i> okay. </div>
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This <i>finally</i> brings me back to my original point: Respect. Hampden-Sydney students need to be taught about how to respect one-another. We need to respect that there are things we should and should not do. We need to respect those tenants of the Honor System that we all agreed on, rather than just the second part. </div>
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The honor code (no lying, cheating, stealing) is pretty much the only things students consider. Even then, they lie, cheat, and steal all the time. only time, perhaps, that the code is considered is when we're working on papers. In addition to this, since the Honor Code doesn't say anything specifically about vandalism and assault, does that mean it's okay to do them? </div>
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Meanwhile, the code of conduct sits in a corner hiding away, forgotten. People do not act like "gentlemen" at all times and in all places. Obviously not. But it's like they often don't even try to do so.</div>
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I've probably rambled enough so here's my points:</div>
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<li>The school and everyone in it needs to be more responsible for informing one another when there is a problem.</li>
<li>Students need to be reminded that "Honor" does not simply mean "No lying, cheating, or stealing (on homework assignments)." </li>
<li>Students should be reminded that the Code of Conduct <i>does exist</i>, and that it should be followed as closely, if not closer, than the Honor Code.</li>
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Respect and Honor walk hand-in-hand, Hampden-Sydney. Take a look at yourself and ask yourself if you're really being honorable.<br />
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-Sincerely and Passionately, </div>
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Your Editor.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-72545349714699692742012-04-04T09:13:00.000-04:002012-04-04T09:13:14.857-04:00New StoriesDear Audience,<br />
<br />
As you've probably noticed, it has been a while since my last post. This is due, both, to a combination of 1) I'm actually a fairly busy student and 2) nothing terribly exciting has been going on.<br />
<br />
I've been looking for new stories, or things to write about, so hopefully I'll have something up sometime soon. Chances are, it wont be as hard-hitting as the last articles, but I hope that you'll bear with me, all the same.<br />
<br />
Remember that I <i>do</i> accept submissions from whoever wants to write, so if you have a story to tell, let me hear it!<br />
<br />
Until then,<br />
Your EditorUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-59236417666598436692012-02-29T16:32:00.000-05:002012-02-29T17:28:21.323-05:00A Barnard-Shea ManReaders, <br />
<br />
The following is a short story written by a faculty member who wishes to remain anonymous. The writer submitted this work to me, and I thought that it would be a brilliant addition to the site. I hope that my readers like this story as much as I did.<br />
<br />
--Editor<br />
<br />
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</style><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />A Barnard-Shea Man <br /><br /><br /><br />Barnard-Shea was a small private all-male college, one of only two such institutions in the United States. After 235 years of higher education in the U.S. these two colleges had succeeded in staying true to their original mission to educate “men only”. And of this history, Barnard-Shea students and alumni were most proud. Their pride demonstrated itself in a variety of ways. From the much quoted catch phrase “200 years of brotherhood” to the controversial bumper sticker “Barnard-Shea College, where men are men and women are guests”, the students were not lacking in ways to showcase their heritage. But it is possible that the greatest of these was the College’s honor code “A Barnard-Shea man will not lie, cheat or steal. Nor will he tolerate those who do.” <br /><br />The honor code was carved in stone in the upper arch of the front gates leading to campus. It decorated the home page and adorned the glossy promotional materials sent out by the College. There was even a beautiful silk banner inscribed with the code. In the old days it had been hung high on the wall behind the pulpit in the chapel. But the banner was now kept carefully folded in a box gathering dust in the chapel’s basement. The vice-chancellor of the College, Allain Jackson, had ordered it put away for “safe keeping” soon after he arrived. “Such a priceless relic of the College’s glorious history is not meant for everyday use, but should be preserved for special occasions”, he had explained in one of his first addresses to the College community. <br /><br />It was in one of those first addresses to the College that two freshmen, Grayson Ward and John Page, sat and listened, first skeptical but later enthralled by Jackson’s powerful rhetoric, satisfyingly seductive in its promise of hope, purpose and strong leadership. When Jackson said, “Barnard-Shea College has been blessed to play an important role in our country for over 235 years”, Grayson and John felt a connection with the College that they had not sensed before. They were part of the history of this place and they had a role in its future. <br /><br />Jackson continued, “Although as an all-male institution, we now appear to be an irrelevant anomaly to some, we most assuredly are not! I am here to tell you that Barnard-Shea College is relevant, especially now. And we must ensure Barnard-Shea’s relevance by continuing to provide an intellectual haven, a fitting and suitable place for the leaders of tomorrow, a seat of learning where masculinity can be celebrated.” <br /><br />Grayson and John were not the only ones impressed by Jackson. Although some faculty had been harder to win over, eventually most of the community celebrated his arrival. Allain Jackson brought new energy and a clear vision to Barnard-Shea. He knew the College needed to increase enrollment and regain economic strength. And he knew how to make this happen. Allain Jackson had gone to a top business school, where he had graduated with highest honors. He unapologetically endorsed a blatantly corporate organizational model. He was a master of marketing strategies and he had exciting ideas for selling the public on Barnard-Shea College in order to bring in more students and more donors. The community could hardly believe their good fortune. Jackson’s main strategy was to polish, promote and advertise the College’s image because “Image really is . . .”, he’d often start, waiting to hear his audience finish his quote by saying “Everything!” <br /><br />“We’re competing for recognition in a saturated market,” he’d often tell them. “Skillfully marketing our image is essential. How we look to others is so important. We must keep that image polished.” The students especially listened to and learned from Allain Jackson. <br /><br />The vice chancellor position was the second most important position in the college, right under the President. Bernard-Shea’s dear old President Garland was loved by all but he was a president who leaned heavily on his vice-chancellor. Vice-Chancellor Jackson stepped naturally into his role as campus leader. He quickly won the hearts of the students by joining them for breakfast in the cafeteria and recruiting anyone available for impromptu soccer matches on the quad. If he found out a student was having problems, he often took that student aside and advised him on how best to handle the situation. He had even taken the upper hand with the fraternities, establishing clear policies and administering swift punishments and sanctions when necessary. <br /><br />And when the Dean of Students suddenly retired in the middle of his first semester, Jackson chaired the search committee for the new dean. He needed someone in that office who saw things the way he did. It would greatly facilitate communication and decision making would be so much easier. Any problems with fraternities, with student life, with substance or alcohol abuse went through the Dean of Students’ office and it was critical that anything potentially negative or damaging to the College be handled swiftly and quietly. There was too much at stake to let just anyone have this position. <br /><br />Since the faculty and some members of his administration were sticklers for details, Jackson was careful to put together a search committee with representation from different parts of campus, including two faculty members and even a student. Grayson was honored when Jackson personally invited him to be a member of the search committee. But no one ever saw an official job ad announcing the position and inviting applications. Instead one day Jackson simply provided the search committee with a list of three candidates and their resumés. Two were unknowns but one was Barnard-Shea’s assistant football coach. This raised a few eyebrows, although Coach Jenkins was such a bad fit, no one took his candidacy seriously. <br /><br />Jackson quickly organized the interviews and invited the search committee to have lunch with the candidates when they came to campus. <br /><br />“Ask them the important questions. Don’t hold back,” he encouraged. “And then send me your comments by e-mail. Please be honest and detail for me any potential concerns you may have with a candidate. I want to know exactly how you feel.” <br /><br />The committee was pleased that Jackson was open to hearing their opinions, although communication by individual e-mail to the Vice Chancellor raised a few eyebrows. It seemed odd to send an e-mail to him instead of having a meeting. But everyone expected that Vice-Chancellor Jackson would convene the committee for at least one meeting, even if it was at the end, so that everyone could share their opinions and vote for their candidate. Because this was how search committees worked. Everyone had a chance to be heard and to vote. <br /><br />The two unknown candidates came to campus and the committee ate lunch with each of them before they went to the Vice-Chancellor’s office for the other part of the interview process. After the lunches, as the committee members talked amongst themselves, they realized they really liked the first candidate, a Dr. Thomas. He was thoughtful, reasonable and very personable. And not only did he have five years’ experience in a Dean of Student’s office on another campus, he was also a trained counselor. Perfect fit, thought the committee members and they described in detailed e-mails to Allain Jackson why Dr. Thomas was their first choice and why Coach Jenkins could not seriously be considered for the position. As one faculty member wrote, “I have known Coach Jenkins for years. He is a nice man, but he has no experience in administration, social situations are awkward for him and he hates to disagree with people. He’s a great assistant coach but he is not the right man for the Dean of Students position.” <br /><br />Like most members of the search committee, Grayson preferred Dr. Thomas for the position as well. He seemed easy to talk to and he had some creative ideas for changing things up around Barnard-Shea. So when Vice-Chancellor Jackson called Grayson into his office and asked him his thoughts about the candidates, Grayson told him his first choice was Dr. Thomas. <br /><br />Immediately Vice-Chancellor Jackson’s smile disappeared. He looked worried. <br /> “Grayson, you can’t be serious. You know there are some real concerns about Dr. Thomas. I don’t know if you have heard, but there are some rumors circulating about why exactly he wants to leave his current job. I think it’s important for you to remember that we don’t know Dr. Thomas. And it’s not a good idea for us to put someone we hardly know into such an important position. No, Grayson. We need to think about what is best for the College. And I’m counting on you to vote for someone who knows Barnard-Shea College and loves it as much as we do.” <br /><br />Vice-Chancellor Jackson put his arm around Grayson’s shoulder. <br /><br />“I know I can count on you to make the right choice, Gray. The College is in a delicate position just now, economically speaking, and a smooth transition to a good candidate like Coach Jenkins is just what we need to keep everything stable. Now, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that this conversation is just between the two of us. Information like this is strictly confidential in order to protect each of the job candidates. Remember, if you are a Barnard-Shea man, you are a man of integrity. Always remember that it is our honor code that sets a Barnard-Shea man apart from the rest.” <br /><br />Jackson gave Grayson a meaningful look before he ushered him out of his office. <br /><br />As Grayson reflected on the conversation later on that night, he felt a little uncomfortable. It didn’t seem right that Vice-Chancellor Jackson should tell him how to vote. But maybe this is how it was supposed to work. The Vice Chancellor must have his reasons for preferring Coach Jenkins. And since Grayson really looked up to Vice-Chancellor Jackson, he voted for Coach Jenkins when he sent in his e-mail comments, although he really wanted Dr. Thomas to be the new Dean of Students. <br /><br />The faculty representatives to the search committee also felt pressure from Jackson to vote for Coach Jenkins but they voted unanimously for Dr. Thomas. Because everyone sent in their vote by e-mail to the Vice-Chancellor and there was never a meeting in which opinions could be shared and listened to, no one knew that at least half of the committee members had resisted the pressure from Jackson to vote for Coach Jenkins and had voted for Dr. Thomas. <br /><br />A week or so later, Vice-Chancellor Jackson announced in a faculty meeting in the chapel that the College was pleased to appoint Coach Jenkins as the new Dean of Students. There was a shocked silence in the room. Coach Jenkins! This couldn’t be. No one liked the idea of questioning the Vice-Chancellor, but one brave history professor finally raised his hand and asked, “Are you telling us that the majority of the search committee voted for Coach Jenkins?” <br /><br />Vice-Chancellor Jackson’s reply was confident. “I am happy to report that a real consensus emerged from the search committee in favor of one candidate. I asked for all the committee members to write me their comments and I am pleased to say that any differences of opinion were marginal.” Here he stretched out his index finger so that it hovered about a quarter of an inch above his thumb to indicate the minimal differences in opinion among the committee. <br /><br />The history professor bravely continued. “I, uh, I, well there just seem to be some irregularities here, Vice-Chancellor.” <br /><br />The room was silent as everyone watched the Vice-Chancellor stare coolly from his podium down on the professor. <br /><br />“I’m not sure what you are insinuating, Professor Morris. I can assure you that the College followed every federal and state regulation concerning the job search. There was a search committee, there were on-campus interviews, all committee members shared their opinions and a decision was reached.” <br /><br />Another faculty member spoke up. “Was there a job announcement or even a job description?” <br /><br />The Vice-Chancellor’s voice had an edge to it now. “Of course there was a job description. I am happy to show it to anyone who wants to see it. And I want to take this opportunity to affirm to everyone here that this was a legitimate job search. I also need to remind you that specific job search details are confidential and protected under state law. I am afraid that I am not going to be able to speak with any more detail in order to protect each of the candidates. And I remind all search committee members of the confidentiality agreement they are obliged to follow in this regard. He paused and changed rhetorical strategies. “As you all know, the College was under a good deal of pressure to find a candidate quickly and without a lot of expense. And we did this.” <br /><br />At this point, a professor from the math department stood up and said “There is a general concern among the faculty that search committee never met-“ <br /><br />Before he could finish, the Vice-Chancellor interrupted him and said, “I don’t understand. Are you all questioning how I did my job as head of the search committee? I can assure you that the search committee was consulted at every point in this process. I guess in hindsight I could have called everyone together for one final meeting, but the majority of the committee made their choice for the position clear and I appointed Coach Jenkins.” Here his look became very stern. <br /><br />“I am sure that I do not need to remind everyone that the College is on the verge of emerging from significant economic difficulties and we are looking forward to entering a period of financial strength. But those who would sow seeds of doubt and mistrust among us could do us great harm. And do great harm to our students who look to us as role models. It is my job to guide this college and to lead these young men forward to secure and good careers. Help me help them!” <br /><br />Grayson and his roommate John sat with the other student representatives to the faculty in their corner of the chapel. <br /><br />John leaned over to Grayson and whispered mockingly, <br /><br />“Jackson is brilliant. Do you see how he turned old Morris on his head? Ha, Ha! A Barnard-Shea man does not lie, cheat or steal. Nor does he …” <br /><br />Grayson smiled and finished the code for him. “Nor does he tolerate any bullshit from anybody who gets in his way!” <br /><br />“Jackson’s the man!” another student whispered. <br /><br />And as Grayson was careful to point out to John after the meeting, Jackson had never really lied. He’d just rearranged the facts so that they looked better. It was clear he had wanted Coach Jenkins to be Dean of Students because this was what was best for the College. And he had made it happen. Jackson was still their hero. <br /><br />And so it was painful for Grayson Ward and John Page, a year later, to be called to the Vice-Chancellor’s office, and to be seated in front of his desk with Dean Jenkins in attendance. <br /><br />“You know, Mr. Ward and Mr. Page why you are here today?”, the Vice-Chancellor asked. <br /><br />Grayson and John looked at Vice-Chancellor Jackson. Both nodded. <br /><br />“You understand, Grayson and John, that hazing is a serious offense and that the College takes it very seriously.” <br /><br />Both nodded again. <br /><br />Vice-Chancellor Jackson continued, “I take it that you understand, then, what it is your fraternity is being accused of?” The Vice-Chancellor looked at the Dean of Students and then back at Grayson. <br /><br />“Yes, sir,” said Grayson in a very small voice. <br /><br />“Please explain it to me then. I want to make sure we are all clear on the charges.” <br /><br />Grayson cleared his voice and began, “Someone made an anonymous call and reported an incident of hazing on the back porch of Epsilon Kappa Nu last night.” <br /><br />“Specifically?” prompted the Vice-Chancellor. <br /><br />Grayson looked nervously at John and then continued. “The anonymous caller reported that some of the pledges were told to drink a bottle of hot sauce, followed by a beer and then the bottles were broken and the pledges were told to do pushups on the broken glass.” <br /><br />There was complete silence in the Vice-Chancellor’s office. The two men looked at the students. Both looked miserable. Grayson was the president of Epsilon Kappa Nu and John was the pledge master and both realized the gravity of this situation. They had been in the house last night and both of them had seen Jake and Patrick, two of the brothers, order five of the pledges to the back porch. Although Grayson and John had stayed in the living room with other members of the fraternity, they knew what was happening because it had happened to them. When they were pledges they had been separated from the rest of the group, ordered onto the deck and had been forced to eat cat food until they vomited. Last night they could see through the sliding glass door to the porch and it was clear that Jake and Patrick were bullying the pledges. They could hear shouting and they saw Jake shove one of the pledges onto the deck when he refused to drink from the bottle Jake was holding in front of him. Grayson and John and the rest of the brothers laughed and kept talking and were careful not to look out on the deck anymore. John had seen one of the pledges vomiting later on. One pledge had a purple bruise on his face near his eye and another had a fairly deep cut on his hand. <br /><br />The Vice Chancellor’s voice broke the silence. “Is this hazing allegation true?” <br /><br />Grayson and John looked at each other and it was John who spoke up. “Not exactly, no sir, that’s not really what happened.” <br /><br />“Oh?” questioned the Vice-Chancellor Jackson. <br /><br />“No, it wasn’t quite like that, ” continued John. “A couple of the brothers thought it would be funny to have a hot sauce tasting contest between them and the pledges. So they asked the pledges if they wanted to participate and when the pledges said yes, they offered the hot sauce to them, but as I understand it, only after they themselves had had some.” <br /><br />Grayson broke in at this point. “And they didn’t really force the pledges to do this either. The pledges knew it was a contest. But they told us later they wanted to do it because they wanted to win.” <br /><br />The Vice-Chancellor looked sternly at the two students. “And the push-ups on the broken glass?” <br /><br />John was quick to answer. “Well, that never really happened. Granted, the two brothers who organized the hot sauce contest were going to ask the pledges to do pushups near the glass, and one pledge actually started to do pushups, but another brother went out on the porch and talked the other two out of that idea.” <br /><br />John and Grayson did not look at each other. They looked straight at the Vice-Chancellor. They had gone over their story several times before the meeting to make sure it was consistent. They had decided that the best strategy was not to deny the actual incident but to make it appear less serious than it was by claiming that the pledges knew it was just a silly contest. The College policy regarding hazing was clear. Any suggestion or attempt to degrade, humiliate or bully a pledge was wrong. But John and Grayson had already spoken with all of the pledges and had warned them what could happen if they told the administration what really happened last night. The fraternity would be shut down, the pledges would never become brothers and the pledges would have no friends on campus if they ratted out the fraternity. And so through fear and manipulation they had guaranteed the pledges’ compliance. Everyone would tell the same story. <br /><br />As John and Grayson sat in the Vice-Chancellor’s office they felt a sense of relief begin to rise in them. Although this was a serious situation, at least with their sanitized version of the facts the punishment would be limited to Jake and Patrick. They would most likely be banned from house parties for the rest of the semester, sanctioned with mandatory community service hours and required to apologize to the pledges for asking them to be a part of the contest. But the rest of the brothers would be safe. And the house would dodge a major bullet. They would be able to keep their pledge class and continue to have parties at the house as well as other social events. <br /><br />The Vice-Chancellor looked at the Dean of Students and then back at Grayson and John. <br /><br />“Gentlemen, is this the truth?” <br /><br />“Yes, sir,” they both answered looking directly into the Vice-Chancellor’s eyes. <br /><br />“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the College’s honor code. A Barnard-Shea man does not lie, cheat or steal. Nor does he tolerate-”, before the Vice Chancellor could finish speaking John interrupted him. <br /><br />“We know the code, sir. And I can assure you, we are Barnard-Shea men to the core.” <br /><br />The Vice-Chancellor nodded. He looked pleased. <br /><br />“Well, gentlemen, we will be following up on this conversation by talking to the pledges. If their story corroborates what you are saying, then the sanctions will be limited to the two brothers who suggested the hot sauce contest.” Here Vice-Chancellor Jackson looked sternly at the students. <br /><br />“I know I do not need to tell you how serious it would be for this to get out to the public. This is not the kind of publicity Barnard-Shea needs right now. In fact, it could be quite damaging. Speaking of which,” and here the Vice-Chancellor turned to the Dean of Students, “Coach, will you make sure your office issues a statement regarding our “zero-tolerance” stance toward hazing. We want to remind everyone that this kind of behavior is not tolerated on our campus. We don’t need any bad press right now.” <br /><br />Coach Jenkins nodded an affirmative. Grayson and John left the Vice-Chancellor’s office. Allain Jackson left soon after as well. He was headed to another meeting. On his way to the meeting, he saw a piece of trash on the beautifully manicured quad. He shook his head, stooped and picked it up, carefully depositing it in one of the new, over-sized trashcans he had recently ordered for the College.</span> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-68318855887257835652012-02-26T14:15:00.003-05:002013-04-06T19:24:12.848-04:00Blown Up!Readers,<br />
<br />
Due to the sudden influx of page views on this blog (I'm actually getting hundreds a day now!) I decided to add another story about submissions. I'm desperate for people who want to help me write stories for this blog. I can give out assignments, or accept submissions, or whatever. If there's something on campus or about the school that you think should be talked about, let me know about it! Send submission requests and things of the like to me at walter.mccoy91@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you guys soon!<br />
<br />
--EditorUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-63078081782416712192012-02-24T15:14:00.003-05:002012-02-24T16:51:31.814-05:00Occupy Blake A?<span style="font-size: large;">Dear Readers, </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />This week there has been a lot of activity on campus. I'm not entirely sure I know exactly what's going on, so I asked my information guy (who will remain unnamed) to give me the scoop. Along with the emails that I will include here, he had this to say about the matter:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Me: "What exactly would you say the problem is here?"</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Informer: "There are two. They both share the problem that the Dean of Students went around the processes outlined in The Key and Employee Handout, which are approved by the Board of Trustees. Problem one: with the students, they abused their power by making empty threats which included expelling students that revealed information about the meeting and expelling students that did not vote [The Dean of Student's] way. The Dean of Student's threatened these students so he could cut corners to get a policy approved before it could get passed by the board. Problem two: With the faculty, it is a part of the employee contract to have faculty approval for certain policy changes. The Dean of Students is using "Project Hercules" to revamp the Greek Life program, but is avoiding correct process by going straight to the Board of Trustees for approval. By doing this, the Dean of Students has broken contracts, and destroyed faculty governance."</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"> This being said, the students have been in quite an uproar. The following is a statement that a group of students collaborated on, and seems to express the general sentiment of the student body:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The administration tried to shaft the student government and violated a crap load of power constraints. Overstepped boundaries.<br />
<br />
Deans in Blake A met with the Student Court recently in a secret meeting, instructing them not to tell anyone, even the Student Senate, about the meeting; in this meeting they were bound to the Honor Code not to spill the beans.<br />
<br />
Next day, the Deans take the proposed drug policy to the Student Senate and tell them that they have one hour to deliberate and that they had no choice but to vote it in. They threatened that the Board of Trustees or other powers-that-be would dissolve student government and impose a stricter policy without their "blessing" if they voted it down. This was an empty threat as the Board had no knowledge of this policy.<br />
<br />
You see, the President and the Administration needed to get this policy through with the students' mark of approval and then PRESENT it to the Board so that they would go along with it.<br />
<br />
The Senate was also bound to the Honor Code and instructed not to say a word and that the policy would be advertised as a "student led initiative."<br />
<br />
All three branches of the Student Government, some members risking threats of suspension from the Administration, called a town hall meeting today (2/23/12) at noon to inform the students what had happened. There was a massive turnout. Additionally, much (if not all) of the faculty are supporting us. A few, in a meeting inside Venable 30 minutes before the protest started, called out members of the Administration on issues such as the shrouded "Project Hercules" and this violation of college regulations. Many were on the steps of Venable right beside the students.<br />
<br />
Other allegations were made that the Admin. had repeatedly abused their power by putting themselves above the Honor Code when interrogating--sorry, "investigating"--students in possible behavioral and honor violations. An international student got up to the bull horn and told a pretty moving story about how the Admin. had yanked him around the bureaucracy and repeatedly shafted him.<br />
<br />
All of the students were advised by the student government to send in their stories of manipulation and abuse and pledge them.<br />
<br />
An investigation on Blake A is either underway or may be underway soon and hopefully this will extend to President Chris B. Howard. The Admin. and President are probably gonna attempt to hide things and lie to everyone. I'm not trusting a dang thing that either comes out of the office halls of Blake A or comes from the lavish Camelot that is Middlecourt.<br />
<br />
Everyone has to know about this. Alumni must know about this. They're trying to suppress the government and the student body of Hampden-Sydney College, Howard urging students at college events last night to not attend the rally today.<br />
<br />
The student body of H-SC needs all the help it can get right now. Whatever help we can get."</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A story like this, of course, has two sides. I've also included a statement made by President Howard's assistant, Drew Prehmus:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Due to the tragic passing of one of our students this fall, President Howard, the Board of Trustees, and the Senior Staff agreed that something had to be done about our drug abuse policy.<br />
<br />
Several months were spent researching best practices at other colleges. It was agreed that Hampden-Sydney needed more prescriptive punishments for drug abuse offenders.<br />
<br />
The Dean of Students wrote a draft policy that prescribes drug testing as one consequence for recorded drug abuse offenders, in addition to codifying many discipline practices that have been followed for years. The Dean of Students presented the draft to Dr. Howard. Dr. Howard suggested the draft be brought to the Board for consultation and their opinions on the draft document.<br />
<br />
The Dean of Students suggested that if the Student Court were presented the draft and approved of it, then it could be presented to the Board with the additional backing of a blessing from the Student Court. President Howard agreed with this idea, and the Dean of Students set out to get the thoughts of the Student Court on the draft document.<br />
<br />
The Student Court did not approve of the draft, so the draft was presented to the Board of Trustees as a draft policy that the College was thinking about and continuing to work on. After a brief discussion, no action was taken on it. The document remains in draft form in the hands of the Student Court.<br />
<br />
The primary conflict has arisen over how the draft proposal was presented to the Student Court. The students do not feel like they were given the opportunity to contribute to the draft, that they were forced to approve it, and that they were forced to keep it a secret. They also expressed frustrations that the manner in which the draft proposal was presented to them did not respect them or College policy properly and that this is a recurring problem."</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This next email comes from one of the members of the Faculty-Student Affairs Committee (F-SAC). I'm leaving his name out of it for privacy reasons:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In response to concerns raised to me and other members of the Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty (F-SAC) as well as those raised at the discussion of the Good Man Plan today, let me briefly provide the information that I had hoped to give you at Faculty Meeting last week.<br />
<br />
Five proposals from Project Hercules were approved by the Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees (T-SAC); These proposals were: 1) to allow fraternities to begin rush the same day that clubs and other social organizations recruit new members (generally at "Pig on the Point" during orientation) with Rush now ending in mid-November instead of in January and with fraternities brought under the same rules (or lack thereof) that now apply to organizations like Tiger Athletic Club; 2) pledging will be reduced from six weeks to four; 3) active alumni councils will be organized for each fraternity to work in close coordination with faculty/staff fraternity advisors and to provide additional adult guidance to the fraternities; 4) a ban on all hazing (as defined in the pledge sent to you by Dean Cvijanovic); and 5) reduction of restrictions on Fraternity events as defined in Article VII of the IFC Statutes (in the Key). Other changes are still in discussion in Project Hercules, but to my knowledge, these are the only ones that have been formally approved and implemented by the T-SAC and I’ve been assured that none will be approved in the future without direct F-SAC involvement.<br />
<br />
As the (only) faculty representative to Project Hercules, I fully participated in discussing and debating each of these proposals, supporting some and questioning others, as did each member of the Project. I will admit that when these proposals went before the November Board of Trustees meeting I assumed—incorrectly—that it was for discussion not implementation since the issues had not yet been brought officially to F-SAC. When I became aware that my assumption was wrong, I raised the issues of faculty governance which are found in Article 2 of the “Statement of Philosophy of Fraternities at Hampden-Sydney College” (in the Key) and Article XI of the “Interfraternity Council Constitution” (also in the Key). The issue was examined at the highest administrative levels and the answer I received from the Chair of T-SAC was that a system in crisis required the emergency intervention of the Board of Trustees and was justifiable within the statutes of the college. I hasten to say that he also immediately made clear that he wanted to draw the F-SAC directly into the Project Hercules discussions which had not been the case to that point.<br />
<br />
On a final, personal note, I just want to say that while issues of faculty governance are crucial, the speed at which this process occurred probably unnecessary and justifiably arousing suspicion, and the precedents set are dangerous; this is not a sneak attack on faculty governance nor is it a slippery slope into loss of faculty oversight over the things that most matter to us. I say this with confidence, though with less naïveté than I might have said it 4 months ago. I think it has raised our (my) awareness of why correct procedure matters and why short-circuiting those procedures may be neither as efficient nor as efficacious as it might seem. F-SAC will be working with the administration and with the Faculty Affairs Committee of the faculty to re-clarify future procedures and the role of faculty and the F-SAC in the regulation of fraternities.<br />
<br />
There is talk of a Town Meeting and if there are questions, F-SAC will again be on the agenda of the next faculty meeting. In the meantime, feel free to send questions or concerns to me or the other members of F-SAC."</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />The meeting was, in fact, the same one talked about in that first email. This last email was sent to everyone on the Faculty-Staff mailing list by Shirley Kagan, one of our Fine-Arts professors:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"At the core of the Hampden-Sydeny experience, more so than any other single element, is honor. And while the student honor system is codified, there is a larger sense in which this principle governs us all at this institution. Honor is valuable but delicate. It is built upon the notion that we all buy into and play by a set of common rules. Sometimes these rules are inexpedient, often they are difficult, but we all commit to them for the sake of the health of the community.<br />
<br />
What is so distressing about the action taken by our trustees in this case, well intentioned though it may have been, is that it ignores a set of rules which was composed, institutionally ratified and adhered to in good faith by all members of this community. To get around this set of rules is certainly convenient and might be in the purview of the trustees' power, but I fear using that power will win a battle but lose a war. Once the idea of honor has once been compromised, why should any of us trust any assurances that it won't be again? And how can we, in good faith, say to a group of students "you are on your honor" when we have not been treated with the honor that we as their teachers, mentors and guides deserve?<br />
<br />
If hope is a thing with feathers, then honor is the thing in its shell, and once that shell is crushed, there is no putting it back together. No future promise is meaningful. It is for this reason that I beseech Dr. Howard, Dean Klein and the Student Affairs Committee of the Faculty to request our trustees to treat the recent actions not as a "done deal" but as a step taken in well-meaning but over-eager haste, and walk this decision back. I fear not doing so will have a corrosive and disillusioning effect on our entire community.<br />
<br />
Most respectfully,<br />
<br />
Shirley."</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Obviously there are a lot of feelings about all of this. There have also been a couple of other interesting emails sent out, including this one:</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7aAReTr0wnU/T0fsMxBvq0I/AAAAAAAAAHA/ZUtBUf-K8n4/s1600/Dean+Klein+Fired.png"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7aAReTr0wnU/T0fsMxBvq0I/AAAAAAAAAHA/ZUtBUf-K8n4/s640/Dean+Klein+Fired.png" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> And this one, from the College Chaplain, David Keck:</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Dear friends,<br />
<br />
I can’t speak for everyone, but my heart is aching for all the anger on campus. For many reasons, there is a great deal of frustration and bitterness, and for some, even a sense of betrayal.<br />
I’m paraphrasing, but the Bible offers this advice: go ahead and be angry, but don’t let the anger get the better of you – and don’t go to bed angry and just stew in your wrath. (Ephesians 4:26)<br />
I’m trusting that with help, the better parts of ourselves can win out. I think that’s what we all want, but we are not sure how to get there.<br />
I’d like to invite everyone to one step in that direction:<br />
There will be a silent prayer service this afternoon in College Church from 3:30-4:30.<br />
No spoken words. No agenda.<br />
Just prayerful listening, sustained reflection, silent prayers from the depths, and candles to remind us of light and hope.<br />
You are invited to arrive and depart at any time.<br />
Peace and best wishes,<br />
David"</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not particularly religious myself, but if it weren't for my work schedule, I'd be there.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;">It might be important to note, by the way, that this is partially about a new Drug Policy that "Project Hercules" is working on. The following is an email from Dr. Chris Howard, President of HSC, addressing the rumors:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Gentlemen,<br />
Clearly there is serious concern about the draft drug policy that has been circulated during the past few weeks. I would like to invite all students, faculty and staff concerned with this matter to join me at 6:15 PM this evening in Snyder Hall to discuss the facts of the situation and make sure we all work together as a community to resolve the problem at hand.<br />
To clarify one rumor that I have heard repeated several times, please know that there has never been any intention to do campus-wide random drug testing at Hampden-Sydney. The draft that is under consideration by the Student Court recommends drug testing only for students who have returned to our student body after serving a suspension for drug abuse.<br />
I look forward to your attendance and to your participation as our community works through this issue."</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This is about all of the information that I currently have on the matter. I've heard dozens of different rumors flying around but as always, I refuse to put anything up without some form of documentation--I'd hate to help spread false rumors after all. <br /><br />Please feel free to leave comments, and voice your opinions on the matter! Your voice is strong, but it is ineffective unless it is heard! <br /><br />--- Editor. </span></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-38133982633797262742011-12-14T20:09:00.000-05:002011-12-14T20:09:10.898-05:00Call for StoriesGreetings Readers,<br />
<br />
Winter Break is upon us so I will be afk for most of the season. If you have suggestions for articles, please feel free to email me posts at mccoyw@hsc.edu. OR, if you would like to submit an article of your own, email it to me at the same address. I hope everyone has a great break away from this horrid place!<br />
<br />
--Your Editor.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-14639551609702746682011-12-08T09:55:00.001-05:002012-01-23T18:34:37.256-05:00Follow-Up on the Shooting<a href="http://hscu.blogspot.com/2011/12/shooting-on-campus.html" target="_blank">Didn't hear about the shooting? Click here, first!</a><br />
<br />
Greetings readers,<br />
<br />
I thought it might be nice to give a little follow-up on the recent shootings. I haven't heard much about anything else since it happened, so I guess it's probably pretty important. First, let's take a look at how the news has responded:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wset.com/story/16203067/hampden-sydneys-president-calls-shooting" target="_blank">First, here's ABC's take.</a><br />
<a href="http://www.stormtracker12.com/story/16198038/shooting-at-hampden-sydney-college-no-one-injured" target="_blank">And NBC...</a><br />
<br />
Ohhhh, NBC..... At least ABC bothered to interview people...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDsPwyLzkgc/TuDT8Q9VFRI/AAAAAAAAAGI/u_6RPMMWNtM/s1600/y+u+no.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MDsPwyLzkgc/TuDT8Q9VFRI/AAAAAAAAAGI/u_6RPMMWNtM/s200/y+u+no.jpg" width="200" /></a>Anyway, that's all swell and everything, but there are a couple interesting points to look at. First of all, how come President Howard was not interviewed? In the face of an (almost) tragic event like this, why was our leader not interviewed for a response on video? Sure, he was quoted as saying this was "Unacceptable." (also: Really? Really? <i>of course it's "unacceptable!" You couldn't say more?</i>). Fascinatingly enough, Dr. Howard, who has always been quick to jump on PR stuff like this was not interviewed for the news. Instead, they interviewed Mr. Thommy Shomo. Hmmm...What does Shomo do again? Oh yeah, that's right. He's the Director of Communications and Marketing. That's certainly a fascinating pick, Hampden-Sydney....<br />
<br />
Now don't get me wrong. Mr. Shomo was the one who got me the gig for filming that admissions video...oh wait...that admissions video I did about a month or two ago, and they still haven't posted? Oh well. I'm not bitter. I didn't exactly praise the school in it, after all....<br />
<br />
Anyway, I may be going off topic. The President <i>did</i> send a message to students, though. This was...certainly fascinating:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cguanYtbNPc/TuDZHgcXVTI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/cmBfz5N4Sh8/s1600/ENS+registration.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cguanYtbNPc/TuDZHgcXVTI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/cmBfz5N4Sh8/s640/ENS+registration.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
"The Hampden-Sydney Emergency Notification System....has a text component which was activated on the morning of Sunday, December 4." That's funny. I very distinctly remember signing up for this ENS on my very first day back on Campus. Lemme just follow this link, and make sure I'm--Oh! look at that, it has me registered already! Well that's funny...I never got a text notification... hmmm...<br />
<br />
Sarcasm aside, there is a serious issue here. Either Christopher Howard is lying to save face, or the system was incapable of performing it's purpose. Because I like to see the best in humanity (even when I've constantly been proven wrong here), I will assume it was the latter. Well I emailed Dr. Howard in reply, wishing him and his family the best in such a stressful time, and respectfully requested that he test the system before someone gets shot and killed. He replied "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Thank you for the note and kind words. We will be testing the ENS soon." </span>(ctrl+c, ctrl+v from my email). So hopefully I'll be getting a text soon to show that the system is working. If not...hell shall be raised.<br />
<br />
--Editor<br />
<br />
<b>UPDATE</b><br />
The system is now up and running, and students are being encouraged to sign up for the system. So..yay!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-59960456048610847022011-12-08T09:33:00.001-05:002011-12-08T09:50:54.082-05:00Library Opens for 24 hours*sniff sniff* What's that? *sniff sniff* Smells like a post that isn't incendiary? Wowzers!<br />
<br />
But seriously, this blog isn't meant to just hate on HSC. (even if I do...) It's meant to talk about the stuff that, for some reason, never gets talked about. So here's a post about something <i>good</i> this school does, but doesn't really advertise like they should.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VKDPOy5C16o/TuDLYsuyOJI/AAAAAAAAAF4/OkOfrJApGYs/s1600/Library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VKDPOy5C16o/TuDLYsuyOJI/AAAAAAAAAF4/OkOfrJApGYs/s200/Library.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RuPYTOPNkZo/TuDLcsGvuwI/AAAAAAAAAGA/GqkPbAmnljI/s1600/Guysstudying.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RuPYTOPNkZo/TuDLcsGvuwI/AAAAAAAAAGA/GqkPbAmnljI/s200/Guysstudying.jpg" width="200" /></a>Welcome to the <a href="http://www.hsc.edu/Library.html" target="_blank">Bortz Library!</a> Probably one of the newest buildings on campus, the Bortz library replaced the Eggleston Library (Stay tuned for more on Eggleston later!) The Bortz library has stuff for students to check out, like books, laptops, power cords, headphones, and students can print and make copies for free. In addition, we also have an interlibrary loan service (meaning you can check out library books from other schools).<br />
<br />
Here's the actual juice of this story: During the exam period of every semester, The Bortz Library opens 24 hours a day. This is so that students can finally do that studying that they haven't done all year (oh...there's the bitterness...). During this period, students begin to pour into the library where they can check out study rooms (2 hour rentals...they try to keep them all day), check out laptops (2 hour rentals...they <i>do</i> keep them all day), sleep on our furniture, and leave their messes laying around. Wonderful.<br />
<br />
In reality, this <i>is</i> pretty cool though, especially if you're the type of guy that likes to study in a library. The downside, though, is the employment. The Bortz library employs a select number of students every year. For the exam periods, they put out a sign up sheet for these students so that they can sign up for the shifts that they would like to take during this period. Unfortunately, you end up with some student workers who like to take as many hours as possible, and then get no rest. The result? He falls asleep on shift, looks like a zombie, and is ultimately ineffective. And yet, he still gets paid. Surprising the type of things we get paid for around here.<br />
<br />
Well that's about it as far as this goes. Feel free to drop a comment, or email me about something you'd like to read. Until then, Fare thee well!<br />
<br />
--Editor.<br />
-Written while on-shift at the Bortz Library, hours 1-3 of the 24 hour nightmare.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-71977787300828704272011-12-05T21:48:00.001-05:002011-12-05T22:39:30.490-05:00HSC UndergroundWelcome to HSC Underground. My name is Walter McCoy, though some still insist on calling me "Flash". I'm a Junior at Hampden-Sydney college, and this is my news blog. Since I started going to school here, I've realized that a lot of the things that happen on campus stay hidden, and are never exposed. Well forget that! This blog is going to be my portal to reveal the things about this school that <i>they</i> don't want you to know.<br />
<br />
"Why, Walter?! Why would you do something like this?!!?!" Answer: Because I've been hurt. I came to this school blind. I had no idea what anything was really like here. I was told that this was a place for brotherhood. Hampden-Sydney was a place where men are men, and everyone looks out for one another.<br />
<br />
The Truth: This place is actually a spirit drain that sucks away all of your happiness, hopes, and dreams if you are not a posh southern rich-boy.* "The Hampden-Sydney Man" is a term that I scoff at with contempt. A Hampden-Sydney Man does not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. That's what they tell you. The truth of the matter though, is that it's all about image. An HSC Man is only worried about how other people see him, so as long as he couldn't be caught, he will refrain from lying cheating or stealing**.<br />
<br />
I know dozens of other students, alumni, and even faculty here at the school who agree with me. Well this is it: This is where I'm exposing this crap. It needs to be done, and that's my mission. I'm sure I'll catch hell from it at some point, since my name's on it, but whatever. I am Walter McCoy. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, and I will not tolerate those who do. I refuse these things because it is what is right, not because I care what people think of me. So welcome to the Underground!<br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">*This is a generalization that I will often use. Please note that there are, in fact, some decent men here.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">**Please note that Vandalism and Bullying are two of the many things ignored from this list of things an HSC Man shouldn't do. (Go figure it's what they do most...)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><br />
--EditorUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-27991153621503899802011-12-05T16:47:00.001-05:002011-12-11T18:38:06.064-05:00Shooting on Campus<div>
Dear Readers, </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Early Sunday morning, there was a shooting on my school campus. I know very little about the actual circumstances myself, but I /do/ however know a lot about the reaction to what has happened. The shooting took place around 1:42 a.m. on December 4th, 2011. Calls were made to the campus security, but by the time they got there, the shooter was gone. witness say they saw three males around the Beta Theta Pi frat house and the Minority Student Union house. Initial findings by the police have revealed five shots fired from a 9mm pistol, one of which struck the MSU house.</div>
<div>
The part that is actually bothering students, though, is how long it actually took for the school to notify us. According to all reports, the call to security came at 1:42 am. The email that was sent to students came at 3:35 am. It took the school almost 2 hours to inform students that there are shooters on campus. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYKrv-gR-GE/Tt0-3JiYBAI/AAAAAAAAAEU/lziIb0l9Bfo/s1600/emergency+alert+email.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="87" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UYKrv-gR-GE/Tt0-3JiYBAI/AAAAAAAAAEU/lziIb0l9Bfo/s640/emergency+alert+email.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
^This is the email I received.^ </div>
<div>
Well at least they sent out an email, right? Surely that's the school looking out for us? Well let me go ahead and put in a little snippet here about our Emergency Notification System:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IJvhrHUocd0/Tt0_bIZ5IGI/AAAAAAAAAEc/crvuHOTuAN8/s1600/Emergency+Notification+System.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IJvhrHUocd0/Tt0_bIZ5IGI/AAAAAAAAAEc/crvuHOTuAN8/s400/Emergency+Notification+System.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
^<a href="http://www.hsc.edu/Crisis-Plans/Emergency-Notification.html" target="_blank">Click Here to see for yourself</a>^</div>
<div>
<br />
A text message will be sent? I never received a text. Neither did anyone on campus. Naturally this serious flaw was addressed with by angry student reports. One student even wrote the President an email:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vFZ0rH6GX-Q/Tt1A6hszYDI/AAAAAAAAAEk/zdYuSFpq_qQ/s1600/email+to+president.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vFZ0rH6GX-Q/Tt1A6hszYDI/AAAAAAAAAEk/zdYuSFpq_qQ/s640/email+to+president.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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to which he replied:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dFn3-zkn38Q/Tt1BV1jV1UI/AAAAAAAAAEs/Brwy638Celg/s1600/president%2527s+reply.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dFn3-zkn38Q/Tt1BV1jV1UI/AAAAAAAAAEs/Brwy638Celg/s640/president%2527s+reply.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
A typical response from our President, whose primary focus has always been the image of the school.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Here are all of the facts as I have them, so I think I'll just close with one more post:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wzdWBbxHy4k/Tt1CwA5AiYI/AAAAAAAAAE0/MLkwgJs88B8/s1600/fbookpost.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wzdWBbxHy4k/Tt1CwA5AiYI/AAAAAAAAAE0/MLkwgJs88B8/s640/fbookpost.png" width="523" /></a></div>
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The following is an email that was sent out by our college President, Dr. Christopher Howard:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Dear Hampden-Sydney College Community,</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Early Sunday morning, multiple gunshots were fired on our campus. Although no one was harmed, the incident is troubling and unacceptable. Evidence points toward the perpetrators being from off-campus with no official ties to the College. I am writing to tell you what we know and what we are doing about it. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">At 1:42 a.m. on Sunday, December 4, calls were made to the Campus Security and Police Department reporting gunshots in the yard of the Minority Student Union (MSU) House on Atkinson Avenue while a party was being hosted in the MSU House. Within one to two minutes, Officer Simmons arrived, with Officer Jenkins arriving shortly after, and they immediately controlled the scene. Chief Gee, Director of Security and Chief of Police, and Officers Fowler and Travis were notified and responded to the scene to aid the investigation and search. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">According to initial police accounts, witnesses reported that three males traversed the MSU yard and the street between MSU and Beta Theta Pi House. One of them fired a handgun as he backed away from MSU. The subjects then fled on foot. Police officers conducted a search for the suspects throughout the entire campus. It is believed they left campus in a vehicle. Initial findings are that at least five shots were fired from a 9mm pistol. One shot struck the MSU House, lodging in the outside wall. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The campus Emergency Notification System (ENS) was activated. A warning notification message was sent to students, faculty, and staff at 3:35 a.m., which informed the community of the nature of the incident and directed all persons to stay inside. An “all clear” message was sent at 4:59 a.m. Both emergency messages were sent as an e-mail to all H-SC e-mail addresses including current students, faculty and staff and posted on the College website homepage. Messages were also posted on the electronic bulletin boards in buildings across the campus. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">This disturbing incident has shaken us all. I want to assure you we are conducting a thorough investigation into what happened so that we can identify who did it and take appropriate and immediate action against them. The Police Department is talking with witnesses, students, and other community members. The Dean of Students Office is communicating with and counseling students. The Farmville Police Department is cooperating with us. Furthermore, we are evaluating our security procedures. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">We all have a responsibility to do our part to ensure that Hampden-Sydney College is a safe place for students, faculty, staff, and guests of the College. We will not tolerate destructive intrusions and unlawful behaviors that threaten the security and serenity of our College community. We will take the appropriate measures to ensure a safe campus. And, we will keep you informed.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">If you have any information about this shooting incident, you should contact the College Police Department at <a href="tel:434-223-6164" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+14342236164">434-223-6164</a>. Ifyou have any additional questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Dale Jones, Vice President for Strategy, Administration, and Board Affairs at <a href="tel:434-223-6116" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+14342236116">434-223-6116</a>.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2011/dec/05/4/hampden-sydney-investigating-series-shots-sunday-n-ar-1515232/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to read an article about it in the Roanoke Times Dispatch. Keep in mind this article is subject to updates.<br />
<br />
And<a href="http://www.wset.com/story/16203067/hampden-sydneys-president-calls-shooting" target="_blank"> Click Here</a> for the ABC13 report.<br />
<br />
Please feel free to comment. Would love to see how others feel about this. Never fear to voice your opinions!<br />
<br />
--Editor<br />
<br />
UPDATE: For the record, my family never heard anything about this, either. I had them check their emails and such. Oh well. I know the parents of <i>some</i> students received emails, so maybe I'm just an anomalous case....<br />
<br />UPDATE: For a follow-up report,<a href="http://hscu.blogspot.com/2011/12/follow-up-on-shooting.html" target="_blank"> click here.</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4274051724161378125.post-13479611582595061702011-12-04T01:18:00.001-05:002011-12-05T22:38:03.028-05:00Welcome to Hampden-Sydney"Welcome to Hampden-Sydney." It's a phrase that I have become accustomed to using quite frequently. I use it in a way that says "Gee, that sounds like one of the defining features of Hampden-Sydney College. I really wish someone had told me about that before I got here, rather than letting me find it out on my own!"<br />
<br />
This phrase typically gets used when my friends and I will remark on the way things are run around the school. A few examples:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I can't believe the Student Finance Board gives $X,000 dollars to a club that does nothing on campus, and then gives less than $400 for our club, which actually has weekly meetings and events for the entire campus..." (Welcome to Hampden-Sydney)</blockquote>
or maybe<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Has anyone else noticed that the President's flowers get replaced weekly without fail, and they can't even change the light bulbs in the Academic honors house?" (Welcome to Hampden-Sydney)</blockquote>
or one of my personal favorites:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"And then he said 'Woah! There's gay people here?'" (Welcome to Hampden-Sydney)</blockquote>
It's really actually sad how many examples of this I could come up with. Maybe I should start writing them down? Anyway, it's dumb things like this that just really blow my mind about this place. I'm almost finished with my fifth semester here, already, and frankly, I'm tired of this place. Things have had their ups and downs since I started here. I'm sure my experience isn't the only bad one here. But you'll quickly learn where I stand here, and why I felt the need to write this blog.<br />
<br />
I really hope that this will someday help someone in their decision process for college selection, but we'll see. Until then, Welcome to Hampden-Sydney.<br />
<br />
--EditorUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0