Longwood’s Family Weekend is teaming up with Farmville’s Heart of Virginia Festival on Sept. 16-17 for a weekend of delicious food, live music and a variety of other events. It will be the perfect time to check in with your student and give them a hug. Bring the whole family—there will be something for everyone!

FAMILY WEEKEND

Save $15 by registering for Family Weekend by Sept. 8. Cost is $10 per person if you register by Sept. 8; $25 starting on Sept. 9. Guests under age 5 and over 65 are FREE. Register for Family Weekend here.

For the most up-to-date Family Weekend schedule, download the Guidebook App free from the Apple or Android store.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email upchurch@longwood.edu or call 434-395-2103.

Here’s a sampling of Family Weekend activities.

Friday
—Game Night, featuring bingo, trivia and Family Feud

Saturday
—Continental breakfast
—Performances by student music ensembles and soloists
—Paint Party (additional $35 fee, advance registration required)
—Information sessions and academic college open houses
—Performances by student groups including Blue Heat, the WOOD, FIERCE and True Blue Stomp and Shake
—Evening entertainment

HEART OF VIRGINIA FESTIVAL

The Heart of Virginia Festival takes place at Riverside Park on Friday night (starting at 5:30 p.m.) and in downtown Farmville on Saturday morning and afternoon. There is no admission charge, but some of the activities require a fee. For more information about times and locations of events, including how to register for the 5K and 10K, click here.

Friday
—Live at Riverside (live music and food vendors)

Saturday
—5K walk/run and 10K run
—Food vendors
—Craft vendors
—Live music
—Cultural events
—Children’s area

—Sabrina Brown

You may be wondering how Covid-19 will impact your student’s experience at Longwood this fall.

The university has updated its guidelines for students, faculty and staff, and visitors, and you should be able to find the answers to your questions here. This information has also should have been emailed to all students who are expected to attend Longwood this fall. If your student didn’t receive it, they can let us know by emailing questions@longwood.edu.

Below are a few highlights that may be of particular interest to parents. If you still have questions after reviewing the available information, just send them to questions@longwood.edu.

FALL COVID GUIDELINES

Classes and Academic Issues
Longwood will offer a full slate of in-person classes this fall. Longwood typically offers very few online-only classes. Going forward, the university will not make accommodations for students to attend scheduled in-person classes remotely.

Students who are quarantining due to a positive Covid-19 test (see next paragraph) are responsible for informing their professors and making a plan to join classes remotely or to make up missed work. They also should  let the Care Team know when they test positive by emailing careteam@longwood.edu.

Quarantine
Students who test positive for Covid-19 should follow current CDC guidance and quarantine for 5 days. There will not be dedicated isolation space on campus. Students will be expected to isolate at home or in their rooms, and we’ll work with students who have extenuating circumstances or who require additional support.

Masks/Face Coverings
Students who are returning to campus/class after the 5-day Covid-19 quarantine period need to wear a face covering for an additional 5 days when around others.

For everyone else, including visitors to campus, masks are optional—both inside buildings and outside. Of course, everyone is welcome to wear a mask if they choose, and members of the Longwood community are expected to be respectful of others’ decisions about wearing a face covering.

Vaccinations
According to state guidelines, Virginia public universities cannot require that students be vaccinated for Covid-19 in order to enroll. However, we strongly encourage all students who can safely receive the vaccine to do so. If the University Health Center has vaccines available, students can make an appointment by calling 434-395-2102 and receive a vaccine there.

Covid-19 vaccinations also normally are available locally at
CVS
Walgreens
Walmart (general immunization information)
Farmville Walmart pharmacy

Covid-19 Testing
The University Health Center can provide Covid-19 testing. Your student can make an appointment by calling 434-395-2102.

Financial Impact of Covid-19 on Your Family
Longwood understands that some family finances have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. If that is the case for your family, we want to work with you. Contact the Office of Financial Aid at finaid@longwood.edu or 434-395-2077 to request a Change of Income form to reflect your current financial situation.

—Sabrina Brown

First of all, a belated—but no less heartfelt—congratulations to all of you whose Lancers graduated in May! I personally know what it’s like to have a child complete their college degree, and there aren’t many occasions that are happier. You have good reason to be proud.

For others of you, your son or daughter is just beginning their college journey. I hope Orientation went well for all of you. Most of all, I want to welcome you to the Longwood family—and to Parent Pipeline. My name is Sabrina Brown, and I work in the Office of Marketing, Communications and Engagement. I want the blog to be helpful and informative for parents, so please let me know if there are topics/issues/questions you’d like to have addressed. Feel free to email me at browncs2@longwood.edu.

If you haven’t signed up to receive Pipeline posts by email and you’d like to do that, go to: https://parentpipeline.longwood.edu/signup/

If you haven’t joined the Parent Pipeline Facebook group and you’d like to do that, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/LancerParentPipeline

Finally, it’s time to start thinking about the fall semester. Here are some quick tips for getting your student off to a good start.

Move-in

For students living on campus, move-in is just a few weeks away. Freshmen will move in Aug. 17-18; continuing students in main campus residence halls, Aug. 19-21; continuing students in apartments, Aug. 19-21; transfer and readmitted students, Aug. 18-21. Student-athletes, student employees, international students and students in the Cormier Honors College may have different move-in schedules. Members of these groups will who have an early move-in date will receive that information from their group leaders.

All other students who will be living in Longwood-managed housing in the coming year should have already received specific information about their individual move-in schedule and instructions via email. You can also find general information online from the Office of Residential and Commuter Life here.

Lancer Card ID ONLINE ORDERING

Students can submit the information for their Lancer Card ID online—no later than Aug. 8—to have their cards included in their move-in packets.

Here are the steps for them to follow:
—Go to lancercard.longwood.edu and sign in using their LancerNET ID and password.
—Upload their photo. Under Account Management, select Photo Upload and follow the steps, including the requirement to upload a photo of their government-issued ID (for example, their driver’s license) in addition to the photo your student wants to use on their Lancer Card.
—Pick up ID at move-in. Your student will receive a “photo approved” confirmation email immediately after completing the online process, which means their ID will be in their move-in packet when they arrive on campus. If they don’t receive a confirmation email right away at the address they provided, they should call the Lancer Card office at 434-395-2715.

Missed the Aug. 8 deadline? No worries. Your student can still submit their photo online and pick up their Lancer Card in the Lancer Card Center located in Eason Hall Room 204.

Parking Permit $25 Discount

Students can save $25 on the cost of a parking permit by ordering the permit online by Aug. 1. Any student who will have a car on campus needs to purchase a permit.

To order a permit, students should go to longwood.edu/parking/permits/aims-parking-portal/ and sign in using their LancerNet ID and password. Click Order Permit and agree to the terms and conditions. Then follow the instructions on each page.

Permits ordered by Aug. 8 will be available during the check-in process during move-in. Permits ordered after Aug. 8 will be available for pick-up in the Parking Services Office located in Eason Hall Room 206.

—Sabrina Brown

It’s hard to believe the 2021-22 academic year is almost in the books. We sincerely hope your student had a great year. And we hope the information below will make the moving-out process a little easier for those of you whose students live in Longwood-managed housing.

Residence halls close at noon on Saturday, May 7.
Except for the groups mentioned below, all students must depart their residences within 24 hours of the conclusion of their last spring 2022 exams or by noon on Saturday, May 7, whichever comes first.

The following students may remain on campus after noon on May 7*:
Graduating seniors**
Graduating master’s degree students who live in the residence halls**
Students approved to assist with commencement**
Apartment residents participating in 12-month housing
Students working with select faculty- or staff-sponsored department activities (for example, some athletes and students working with Brock Experiences)
*Students who believe they should receive special approval to remain in Longwood-managed housing after noon May 7 should contact their coach or the appropriate faculty member for approval information.
**Students participating in commencement must depart campus no later than 4 p.m. Saturday, May 21.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Do not drive or park on the grass.
• Do NOT park the nearby lots for private businesses. These lots are TOW-AWAY ZONES at all times, including weekends.
• Farmville Area Bus (FAB) service ends at 5 p.m. Friday, May 6.
• Residents are encouraged to consider donating items—especially those they might otherwise throw away—to the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, FACES Food Pantry, Southside SPCA or the Clothes Closet. Collection boxes are available in residence hall main lobbies, Lancer Park Brown Commons, Landings laundry room and the Greenwood Library.

CHECKOUT PROCESS

• • Remove all belongings. You must remove all personal items from your assigned space or any other areas of your unit before departing campus.
  • Abandoned property. Personal items still in a unit after a resident has checked out OR left in an unauthorized area of a unit will be considered abandoned and are subject to disposal and financial charges. Be sure to double-check your unit and remove all personal items prior to departing campus.
  • Using check-out envelopes and drop box (available for all residence halls and apartment communities).
    • Envelopes are available at each service desk.
    • Fill out the envelope.
    • Place key(s) inside envelope.
    • Place the envelope in the drop box. For residence halls, the drop box is in the vicinity of the front desk. For Lancer Park, there is an exterior mounted box close to the Brown Commons front service desk. In the Landings, each ground floor elevator lobby area has a  wall-mounted box.

DEPARTURE EXPECTATIONS

Prior to leaving campus, all residents must complete the tasks below. Units will be inspected to ensure compliance. Failure to comply may result in judicial sanctions and/or financial charges.
Departure Checklist
—Remove all trash, contraband and perishable food.
—Thoroughly clean your unit, including the bathroom and common spaces.
—Take valuables and important items (medication, eyeglasses, wallet, etc.).
—Shut down and unplug all electronics, except refrigerators that are university property and/or remain in the unit.
—Turn off all lights.
—Close and lock all windows.
—Lower all window blinds/shades.
—Lock all doors.

INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS OF MOSS AND JOHNS HALLS

• • Loading zone access on the South Main Street side of the halls will be closed from Wednesday, May 4, through Saturday, May 7.
  • Spruce Street and Redford Street will be open for exit only onto South Main Street from Wednesday, May 4, through Friday, May 6. On Saturday, these streets will not be open for exit onto South Main.
  • U-turns will be permitted on Spruce Street after 5 p.m. only from Wednesday, May 4, through Friday, May 6. U-turns will be permitted all day on Saturday, May 7.

Your Lancers had a great time this past weekend as students enthusiastically embraced the return of Spring Weekend, one of Longwood’s most popular traditions.

They splashed and dived in the Oozeball mud pit. They raised money and awareness for their organizations with pay-to-play games of skill and chance, and selling  “puppy kisses” and other unusual items. They strutted their stuff in step shows, sang their hearts out with student a cappella groups and crowded the stage for live performances by popular bands.

The sky was blue, and the temperature was perfect.

Here are a few photos to give you a flavor of the weekend, and you’ll find more photos on Facebook. Maybe you’ll even catch a glimpse of your Lancer.

—Sabrina Brown

Cheer on our Lancers at the Big South Conference Basketball Tournament this week as both the men’s and women’s teams compete for a chance to play in their first-ever NCAA Tournaments.

Also, please go to the bottom of this post to read about some additional students we can be proud of. The String Ensemble will present a concert this evening (Thursday) at 7:30 p.m.

Now back to basketball.

Check out go.longwood.edu/horsepower to stay on top of all the Big South Tournament news. You can also purchase tickets in advance on this site through midnight the day before games.

There lots of ways to show your support. You can attend games in person at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. (See below for information on how your student could get a free ticket to each session.) Or you can watch the action at home if you have the right cable/streaming package or subscription.

As regular season conference champions, the men’s team is No. 1 seed in the tournament. The women hold the No. 2 spot in the Big South (tied with Campbell for conference wins but with a loss to Campbell earlier in the season).

The women’s first game, which is in the quarterfinals bracket, is at 6 p.m. today, Thursday, March 3. This game will be on ESPN+. Winners progress to the semifinals, which for Longwood would mean a game at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5. This game also would be on ESPN+. A semifinals win would take the women to the championship game, set for 8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 6. It will be televised on ESPNU.

The men’s first game, also in the quarterfinals, is at noon on Friday, March 4. This game will be on ESPN+. Winners will progress to the semifinals, which for Longwood would mean a game at noon Saturday, March 5. This game also will be televised on ESPN+. With a win in the semifinals, the men would head to the championship game, set for noon Sunday, March 6. It will be on ESPN2.

Longwood is purchasing 150 tickets for each of the men’s and women’s games, which will be distributed FREE to Longwood students. Tickets will be available at the coliseum in Charlotte on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each ticket is good for that day’s entire “session”—that includes eight games in the quarterfinals and two games in the semifinals. Students will be allowed one ticket each for each session; all they need to do to claim their ticket is show their Longwood ID.

Want to make it a family event? Head to Charlotte! Tickets for the general public are $15 and are available in advance at go.longwood.edu/horsepower until midnight the day before the games. You can also buy tickets at the coliseum.

Spring Into Strings with Concert Thursday, March 3

Do these talented students want to string you along? Absolutely—right up to the doors of Jarman Auditorium for the Longwood String Ensemble’s concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, March 3.

Violinist David Cassidy ’23 (left), cellist Misha Wiley ’25, violinist Daisy Colgin ’25 and violist Mary Spengler ’24 will perform a Schumann string quartet as part of the program.

The String Ensemble concert will also include a medley of tunes from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, a piece for chamber orchestra and solo cello that was featured in the movie Master and Commander, a piece that invokes the flavor of Spanish dance and, possibly for the first time ever, a selection that brings together on the same stage Longwood strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion—providing a peek into the future when Longwood might have a full orchestra.

Can’t make it in person? Tune in to the livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NiGVpGCLCU

—Sabrina Brown

Does your student have plans for the summer?

If not and you’d like to give them the opportunity to expand their horizons—and their minds—right here in the United States, consider the Brock Experiences.

One of Longwood’s signature programs, Brock Experiences are a rotating offering of faculty-led courses that take participants throughout the U.S. to grapple with some of the big questions facing society today. This summer students will be going to Yellowstone National Park, Alaska, San Francisco and Arizona.

All of the courses except Alaska are still taking applications.

All provide 3 hours of academic credit that fulfill a Civitae Core Curriculum requirement. Program costs vary, but are in the neighborhood of $2,500, which includes
—Tuition
—Travel in the field
—Lodging
—Most meals
—All educational activities
—A rough estimate of the travel cost to the program site (students make arrangements and pay for this separately) also is included in the $2,500 estimate

Students may also apply for scholarship support.

Below are some of the details for each of the programs still accepting applications, as well as links to the applications. (Students have to fill out the application—but you can share this post.)

If you have questions, feel free to email Josh Blakely, the program director, at blakelyjk@longwood.edu.

Stewardship of Public Lands

How do we best manage our diverse natural landscape?
Yellowstone National Park

This intense, two-week journey through Wyoming and Montana in the country’s most famous national park opens students’ eyes to the myriad issues impacting the preservation of our natural resources. As they gaze out at majestic mountains and lakes, students ponder what our responsibility as a country is to protect our precious natural resources while recognizing their value in driving commerce for thousands of communities near the park.

Dates: On-campus pre-departure workshop, May 8-10; travel portion: May 14-24
Locations: Cody and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Gardiner, Montana; Yellowstone National Park; Grand Tetons National Park
Civitae Core Curriculum: Fulfills one Perspectives requirement
Apply here for Yellowstone program.

Being Human: Genetics and Society

What does it mean to be human in the 21st century?
San Francisco

Under the microscope in this course are our genes and their contribution to who we are as individuals, as a culture and as a species. The San Francisco Bay Area of California is the ideal location for this exploration. In cities surrounding the bay, research institutions with world-leading human genetics and bioethics programs are dissecting the human genome and inventing medical tools for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Students will interact with stakeholders from a variety of different disciplines.

Dates: On-campus pre-departure workshop, May 9-11; travel portion, June 7-14
Location: San Francisco, California
Civitae Core Curriculum: Fulfills one Perspectives requirement
Apply here for San Francisco program.

Immigration

Who comes to the U.S., and why do they make the journey?
Arizona

There is perhaps no more hotly contested issue in the United States today than immigration—who crosses our borders, and why do they make the journey to a foreign country to settle? How do they get here, and what challenges do they face once on American soil? Students will meet immigrant families, employers and border security officers as they explore this extraordinarily complex issue.

Dates: On-campus pre-departure workshop, May 9-11; travel portion, May 24-31
Locations: Tucson and Nogales, Arizona; Saguaro National Park; Tubac National Park; Richmond, Virginia
Civitae Core Curriculum: Fulfills one Perspectives requirement
Apply here for Arizona program.

—Sabrina Brown

Intent on keeping a tight grip on their unprecedented undefeated status in Big South Conference play, the Longwood men’s basketball team will take on USC Upstate at 7 p.m. Thursday night at home in Willett Hall—with the game to be televised on ESPNU.

You can watch or stream the game if you have the right service (see below for ways to do that) or consider heading to Farmville to see the game—and give your student a hug—in person.

As of this morning (Monday, Feb. 7), tickets were still available ($7 per person general admission; $3 for senior citizens). The atmosphere in Willett is electric this season, and the game will almost certainly be sold out.

It’s a historic season for both men’s and women’s basketball.

The men have won all nine of their Big South games, with an overall record of 17-5.

The women’s team is currently 9-3 in the Big South, putting them in third place in the conference, and 12-11 overall. The women’s next conference home game is at. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, against North Carolina A&T. They’re serving up some exciting basketball as well, so this game is another great reason to head to Farmville.

How to watch on ESPNU

Stream on ESPN.COM*
*Note: ESPNU games are not available to stream with an ESPN+ subscription and require a subscription from one of the following cable/streaming providers:

ALSO WORTH NOTING:
Life skills are the focus of February presentations

The Office of Alumni and Career Services kicks off its Lancer Learning series with a presentation each Wednesday afternoon this month. Here’s the “who, what and where” in case you want to give your student a heads up about stopping by.

All three programs are scheduled for 4:30-5:30 p.m. in Upchurch 300.

February 9: Budgeting and Investing. Brad Watson, managing director of Davenport Wealth Management, will talk about how to build a budget, investing for young adults, planning for retirement early in your career, and developing good money-management strategies.

February 16: All About Taxes. Dr. Dawn Schwartz, assistant professor of accounting in the College of Business and Economics, answers these important questions: What are taxes and how do you file them? How should you fill out tax paperwork when you are hired for a job? How do you avoid common tax pitfalls?

February 23: Shedding Light on Health Insurance. Summer Martin, customer care representative from Anthem, discusses common health insurance questions: How do you choose a good healthcare plan from your employer? Why do young adults need health insurance? What do all those abbreviations mean? How do I decipher a doctor’s bill?

—Sabrina Brown