Speaking with a few friends who attend larger universities about the Oktoberfest events of this past week, I was struck by their reactions. As I detailed how the event and concert series were all held on main campus, they raised their eyebrows.
“Isn’t that weird? Like, to see your professors and stuff?” they asked, referring to their Fall Festivals which are usually held off campus and not affiliated with their respective university. I reflected for a moment, as I’d never considered it to be weird to see faculty mingling with the student body in a casual setting.
I considered that perhaps this interaction wasn’t as unusual to me as it was to them due to the small size of Longwood’s campus; it’s indeed hard to maneuver around Farmville without some degree of interaction with university employees.
Yet, there seemed to be something different about Longwood’s relationship between faculty and students that was inherently unlike that of the other universities. I set out this Oktoberfest to attempt to define this lingering feeling.
The weekend kicked off on Friday with the annual Color Wars, marked by a flood of students clad in white on Iler Field. Amongst the masses, it was easy to pass by the event’s most prestigious participant: President W. Taylor Reveley IV.
Reveley seemed right at home as he was covered in red, green and blue paint alongside students.
Numerous other faculty members attended the event, as well; though most stood at a respectful, dry distance from the paint flinging.
After Color Wars was complete, many students took the opportunity to mingle with the faculty, some even taking photos with professors brave enough to stand beside the soaked students while still wearing their professional attire.
In speaking with these students, they expressed how they appreciate the faculty’s involvement with activities outside of the classroom. They also noted how many of their professors take an active investment in their outside interests in ways such as following the student’s stats on their respective sports teams, attending the student’s drama production, etc.
The students expressed how this investment in their outside interests makes them feel as if their professors truly care about them and their successes. This makes the students want to work harder in the classroom to show their appreciation.
Listening to this made me realize that what truly sets Longwood apart from other universities isn’t its small size, but rather, the personal relationships students develop with the staff on campus.
Knowing a professor/teacher/president truly cares about our successes pushes us to work harder to make them proud, to show that their investment is appreciated and to represent their hard work in teaching us by exemplifying it as we head into the professional world.
