Office Hours

Today, much like any other day of the week here for me at Washington and Lee, I went to office hours. As a math major, this part of my day is crucial to my academic success. Whether I’m working on a weekly problem set or studying for the next big Real Analysis test, my professor, just like any other professor at W&L, is more than accessible and really eager to help. This part of my day is where I can solidify the class lectures and ensure that I understand what we’ve covered. To me, this is one of the major benefits of coming to a small liberal arts college like Washington and Lee. All of our professors here really want us to do well and are certainly willing to lend a hand to make it happen.

Spring Term

The nice weather finally coming around is a constant reminder of Spring Term. Taking one course for four weeks is not only a good way to become very knowledgeable about that one topic, but also offers a time to get to know Lexington, VA. With time to spend out in the nice weather people often explore the local mountain trails and rivers. Floating down the river is a very common activity during the Spring. With many off campus houses right on the river this is no hard task.

Although many schools have similar short class terms, they are usually in the Winter. W&L offers this short term in the Spring. In my opinion, this is the ideal time to offer such term. It not only allows students to focus on a topic they want, but also gets students to learn more about the surrounding Lexington area. Students take full advantage of this time and Spring Term is many students most favorite thing about their time here. With such a beautiful surrounding landscape, Spring Term is certainly something that makes W&L an enjoyable school for a student to attend.

This is why W&L

Image by Steele Burrow ’13

I was just looking through my Facebook feed when I saw this picture of my friend Freddy snowboarding on the Colonnade. I was immediately struck by the image and couldn’t wait until tomorrow to post it for you all because it combines so much of what I love about W&L. The four seasons and the occasional (much-needed) snow day. The gorgeous campus and the historic Colonnade buildings. Student initiative, seen in a makeshift ramp ski’s to take full advantage of every inch of fleeting snow. The sense of community and the friendships that are on display. The amazing talents of my peers like Steele Burrow, the photographer of this image and the President of our Executive Committee.

In this image I see the past and present of W&L, as well its the endless potential and bright future, and I see what makes this school special. Maybe I am still a bit giddy about a few days off of school, or maybe, although a bit sappy, I am not the only one who feels that way about this image or W&L.

On the road

The Mall

7:15AM Saturday, March 2nd: Weary and tired travellers board the buses to Washington, D.C. for the annual Art History field trip. I happened to be part of a Latin American Caribbean Studies capstone course that was hitching a ride with the Art department. While other courses headed into the National Gallery or the Hirshorn, our contingent went to the Art Museum of the Americas to take in a quaint but great little exhibit on Dominican and Haitian art. Afterwards we went to Oyamel, a great Mexican restaurant by the mall and had lunch as a class. We sampled gourmet tacos and dipped churros in chocolate while we discussed what we had seen that day and how we can relate our D.C. trip to our capstone papers. Unique opportunities like these field trips make up the essential fibers of the W&L experience –  allowing us the chance to learn holistically and truly get to know our professors.

 

Campus colors

Another gorgeous day at W&L

In honor of this dreary day here is a picture of the sun setting behind the Sorority Houses on campus two weeks ago. It was a gorgeous day that felt like Spring and, hopefully, we will be having many more like it soon.

Healthy living

Prof. Knapp encourages everyone to get a Flu Buddy for Flu Season

From the little things like the coat hooks to the big deals like our Honor System, I find something I love about Washington and Lee every day. There are seemingly endless resources on campus whether you need to find an internship, mail a package, and update your computer software, but the one that never ceases to amaze me is our Health Center.

Open 24/7 the Student Health Center is always there for undergrads and law students alike who come down with a cold, sprain an ankle, or need a flu shot. Completely included in your tuition, you can go to the Health Center as much as necessary when you are enrolled at W&L, and I certainly take full advantage of this (essentially) free health care while I still have access to it. Yesterday in class I felt a small bump under my neck and, being a hypochondriac and chronic worrier, I began to freak out. I ran out to “go to the bathroom” (Sorry, Professor!) and made a quick call to the Student Health Center. And then, just 15  minutes after class ended I walked in the door to my appointment where I was instantly assured that it was entirely normal for a lymph node to get a little inflamed and that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. I left feeling relieved not only from the knowledge that I was fine, but also the security in knowing I have a resource like the Health Center to calm all of my nerves and treat all of my ailments.

While the neck-bump was a non-issue, many students must visit the Health Center under less convenient circumstances. If a student happens to have, let’s say, consumed too much of a liquid substance, the Health Center will gladly take them in with open arms and an open cot for the evening, only to be released after they have seen a doctor and had a healthy breakfast the next morning. This resource comes with a guarantee that no student will get in trouble for seeking assistance when needed and ensures that all W&L students have a safe place to go at all times.

Many Interests

As the weather has cleared up and gotten warmer, attending outdoor sports events has become much more bearable. This past week (while many of us were traveling and relaxing at home) the W&L Men’s Lacrosse team posted two great one-goal victories. Winning is common for W&L teams, but these victories were special. First, the lacrosse team beat the number 1 seed in the country, Salisbury, in double overtime. After this game, the team traveled to Ohio to face, then ranked 10th, Denison. This was also a close game with Garrett Paglia, a sophomore, scoring with 2:04 to put the Generals on top. With these wins W&L is now ranked 9th in the country. As this is the highest W&L has been ranked in lacrosse in the past few years it is reason to celebrate. However, I believe that an even better thing to celebrate is the rare breed of student-athlete that W&L has.

As a whole W&L students are very talented and have many different interests. This also applies to our athletes. Although some may be described as stereotypical “jocks” most student-athletes here carry more interests than those just on the field, in the weight room, swimming pool, etc. Many of the student-athletes at W&L have been known to exhibit their artwork, post the music they create online, participate in non-sport oriented clubs, and study abroad. This diversity within a category simply shows how widely held the belief of being well round is here at W&L. Students do not simply focus on one thing and put their head down, they explore many areas of interest.

The liberal arts education pushes students to explore different areas of study. It is this learning style, and the surrounding students, that encourage all students to participate in diverse events. If you speak to students you will find that while one may be in a business related club, that same person may also write for the school paper or blog.

The diversity of each individual student is one of the many things that makes W&L a special place. Each person has so much to offer and is as interesting as the next.

Honor.

Honor is everything at W&L

From ‘The Honor System’ on the W&L website:

Honor is the moral cornerstone of Washington and Lee University. Commitment to honor is recognized by every student, faculty member, administrator, and staff member of the University. Honor provides the common thread woven through the many aspects of this institution and creates a community of trust and respect affecting fundamentally the relationships of all its members.

The centrality of honor at Washington and Lee is contained in its Honor System. The Board of Trustees has granted to students the privilege of overseeing the administration of the Honor System. The sole penalty for an Honor System violation is dismissal from the University. These responsibilities are administered by the Executive Committee of the Student Body, a group of students elected annually by their peers.

Academic life is essentially shaped by the commitment to honor. Assuming that students will behave honorably, the faculty grants flexibility in the scheduling of most final examinations, and all are taken without supervision. Take-home closed book examinations are a common occurrence. The pledge, “On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unacknowledged aid on this (exam, test, paper, etc.),” expresses the student’s promise that the work submitted is his or hers alone. Students’ dedication to honorable behavior creates a strong bond of trust among them and between them and the faculty. This student dedication and the bond that it engenders also provide the basis for the faculty’s commitment to accepting a student’s word without question.

The dedication to behave honorably is not confined to academic life. It is expected that students will respect each other’s word and intellectual and personal property in the residence halls and the Greek houses, on the playing field, in the city of Lexington, or wherever Washington and Lee students take themselves. This principled expectation provides the foundation for the community of trust which students seek to create not only in the academic sphere but in life outside it, as well.

The Honor System has been a unique feature of Washington and Lee University for well over a century. Thousands of students have lived under it while in residence, have been morally shaped by it, and as alumni and alumnae, continue to be guided by it in their professional lives. Current students are as committed to it as were those who lived and studied here before them, and they maintain with firm conviction this distinctive ideal of the University.

 

“On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unacknowledged aid on this blog post.” -Ali

SSA5

Aerial Dance at SSA

SSA, full name ‘Science, Society, and the Arts’ is our on-campus conference which allows students and faculty to share their various academic projects with the W&L community. this year it will be held March 7th and 8th and classes will be suspended on the 8th so that all students and faculty can attend.

From the SSA Website: Science, Society, and the Arts is a multi-disciplinary conference involving Washington and Lee undergraduates and law students in the presentation of their academic achievements before an audience of their peers and the faculty. Conference participants share their work via oral presentations, traditional academic-conference-style panels, poster sessions, artistic shows, or creative performances. Students, faculty, and staff may also choose to participate in colloquia organized around common readings proposed by interested Washington and Lee community members.

In Praise of Honor

The subject line in the e-mail from my politics professor said “Stuck in Detroit.” Of course, everyone in my class was ecstatic; whenever a professor gets stuck in another city with no way to get back for class, it’s reason to celebrate (nothing against any professors or their classes). I had yet, however, to read the e-mail, which went on to say that although our awesome professor was unable to be in class, we were “honor-bound” to report to class as usual and do the assigned lesson. Naturally, my first reaction was “ughhhh, class?!” This was soon followed by a simple decision: I decided to go to class.

I showed up to class, and so did everyone else, and that is really powerful. It is not at many schools that students would show up to class despite the fact that their professor is absent. Everyone in my class showed up, and we all helped each other do the lesson, and thinking back on it, it truly is incredible that every person in our class was present. It is testament to the honor of our students and our school.