On Saturday, March 3, from 10 p.m.- 2 a.m., Long wood students were able to have the city club at mosphere brought to lil' ol' Farmville in the ABC rooms of Lankford Student Union through the Spring Kickoff Dance. The event was a collabora tion with the Minority Student Union House at Hampden-Sydney College (HSC) and the Student Diversity and Inclusion Council (SDIC) of Long wood University.
Organized solely for college students, guests were required to present their college ID to gain admis sion into the dance with an X drawn on his or her hand as proof of free admission.
Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Co-Chair of the SDIC Dr. Jamie Riley said, "Until recently, Longwood students would visit the Minority Student Union House on the campus of Hamden-Sydney for various parties and other so cial events."
He added, "This semester, the organization has no longer been able to host these events, leaving many Hampden-Sydney students and [Longwood] stu dents without a place to socialize and congregate."
Riley said he hoped the event helped "provide a fun, safe and enjoyable environment for students to socialize and make new connections with college students from various other institutions." He noted about 100 total guests attended the event, includ ing students from other campuses in the region.
The ABC rooms of the student union were filled wall to wall with students able to spend the last weekend before spring break, dancing and hav ing fun with current and new friends. Rather than spend another day stressing about final tests, quiz zes and essays due for this time of the spring se mester, Longwood and HSC were able to give stu dents a breather to boogie their stress away and meet new people while doing so.
"I would consider this event a success. The stu dents came and had a great time," said Riley who noted the event was planned and advertised with the help of Shawn Gaines, programming chair of the SDIC, and Rosa Townes, social activist of the SDIC.
