Sabrina Brown

Come January, wired and WiFi internet speeds in residence halls, Lancer Park and Longwood Landings will get a significant boost, thanks to the university’s investment in upgrading its network in those buildings.

Students will receive technical support for connectivity issues 24/7/365 directly from Shentel, the university’s internet provider.

Uploading and downloading will be faster

Starting in January, the new internet service will offer a faster speed of 100/100 Mbps through both wired and WiFi connections. This means is that students will be able to upload and download data at a faster rate of 100 Mbps (megabits per second).

Mark Kendrick, associate vice president for Information Technology Services (ITS), said Longwood understands that internet service and its performance are crucial for students in their academic and extracurricular activities. With the recent upgrade, he added, students will experience faster uploading and downloading. This will result in less buffering and more uninterrupted viewing, especially when streaming content on platforms like Netflix or Hulu.

Faster upload speeds will aid in transferring large files, such as high-resolution photographs used in art classes, as well as facilitating file sharing in group projects, Kendrick said.

More and better connections

Also part of this project is the upgrading and increase of WAPs (wireless access points), which connect computers and other devices to wireless Internet service.

Audrey Bright, Shentel’s director of enterprise sales who has been collaborating closely with Kendrick, said they will be upgrading 157 WAPs and installing 109 new ones to improve connectivity in the residence halls and apartment buildings, including in the rooms of students.

“Overall, coverage is very good in each of the covered buildings,” she said. “However, there are some weak spots, and Shentel will be adding WAPs to enhance coverage and capacity in areas with weak signal and/or high demand. Shentel is very excited to continue our partnership with Longwood in enhancing the student experience through technology that grows along with student needs.”

The upgrades won’t function optimally—meaning slower internet speeds—unless students help with one critical part of the process, Kendrick said. If your student is using their own WAP or mobile hotspot, please encourage them to disable it when the new system becomes operational.

“We know that some students have purchased their own WAPs and turn on their mobile hotspot in an attempt to improve their internet performance,” Kendrick said. “While they may improve coverage in a specific area or for a specific student or group of students, they interfere with the performance of the network, and can negatively impact the experience of other students nearby. The effectiveness of the upgrades will be compromised by the interference that these unmanaged devices create.

“Please allow the new system to function at its highest and most effective level by removing these boosters in January.”

Technical support 24/7/365 from Shentel

If your student is experiencing connectivity issues and is unable to access the internet, Shentel is available to provide technical support 24/7/365. Simply have your student call 855-267-7289 for assistance. For other technical issues, please have your student contact Longwood’s Help Desk at 434-395-4357.

Funding for the project

A portion of the funding for this upgrade is coming from the reallocation of funds that were previously used for cable TV service, Kendrick said, adding that this decision was made after observing and receiving feedback from students living in Longwood-managed housing, where less than 1 percent of residents are currently utilizing cable TV.

“Given the substantial decline in cable TV use, we wanted to put those resources toward the network upgrade,” said Kendrick. “Longwood is committed to providing students with the tools they need to be successful academically, and technology is high on that list.”

—Sabrina Brown

Family Weekend is set for Sept. 15-16 this year, and it’s no coincidence that it happens just about a month after the start of the fall semester.

By that time, some of you may be missing your student after having them at home over the summer. Or you may be wondering how they’re adjusting if they’re new to Longwood. Family Weekend is the perfect cover story—I mean, opportunity—to come back to Longwood for a visit because lots of other parents will be here, too. (You can also get another couple of hugs to last you until fall break, which is set for Oct. 5-6 this year).

And you won’t have any trouble finding something to do. Family Weekend has a full slate of activities for Friday evening and all day Saturday, including the free Heart of Virginia Festival on Sept. 16, which takes place right in Longwood’s front yard and the surrounding area.

Family Weekend registration is $25 per person (Longwood students and children age 5 and under attend free). Most of the activities are covered in the registration fee. For an additional cost, you can also sign up for a pottery class with a faculty member, a paint party and/or a psychic/mentalist performance. For all the details and the weekend’s full schedule click here.

Family Weekend Highlights

Friday
—Evening Reception with Members of the Longwood University President’s Council
—Game Night, Featuring Bingo, Family Feud and Trivia
Saturday
—Continental Breakfast
—Campus Involvement Talks
—Heart of Virginia Festival
—Men’s Soccer Game vs. Saint Francis University
—Longwood Music Showcase
—Saturday Night Entertainment with the Evasons

Accommodations, Etc.

You’ll find information about local accommodations, restaurants, attractions and more on the Family Weekend website.

Registration

You can register online or in person from 4-8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 15, at the Upchurch University Center.

We hope to see you here next month!

—Sabrina Brown

Family Weekend is not funded by state funds, tuition or state fees. Family Weekend is an independent and self-supporting activity for families and friends of the university.

Today’s post focuses on how to successfully send a package or have items delivered from local merchants to students living in Longwood-managed housing. Instructions for students living in residence halls and apartments are below.

Please remember that no deliveries from local merchants (flowers, food, groceries, etc.) can be accepted at the Longwood post office, at the front desk of residence halls or apartment complexes, or at your student’s floor or room in a residence hall, Longwood Landings or Lancer Park North and South buildings.

Main Campus Residence Halls and Longwood Landings Deliveries

Traditional Package Deliveries

Use your student’s PO Box number for traditional mail and package deliveries (USPS, UPS and FedEx, for example). Your student should have received this information at Orientation, and it’s available to them through their account at my.longwood.edu.

Local Merchant Deliveries (flowers, food, groceries, etc.)

When ordering items from local merchants that are being delivered to campus, please provide the merchant/delivery service with your student’s physical building address, which can be found below.

For every order, please also provide a contact number where the merchant/delivery person can reach your student to coordinate a meeting place for the delivery.

Physical Building Addresses

Lancer Park Deliveries 

For all package and local merchant deliveries, residents should use their standard mailing address, which includes an apartment number and street address. This includes packages being delivered by USPS, UPS and FedEx as well as flowers, meals, groceries and other items being delivered by local merchants. Your student’s address is available to them through their account at my.longwood.edu.

For every order made through a local merchant, please also provide a contact number where the merchant/delivery person can reach your student to coordinate a meeting place for the delivery.

No deliveries can be accepted at the Brown Commons front desk.  Floor-level deliveries are not permitted in Lancer Park North or South buildings. However, local merchants are permitted to make deliveries to other residences at Lancer Park (other than North or South buildings).

—Sabrina Brown

For students living on campus, move-in is less than two weeks away!

Freshmen will move in Aug. 16-17; continuing students in main campus residence halls and apartments, Aug. 18-20; transfer and readmitted students, Aug. 17-20.

Student-athletes, student employees, international students, students in the Cormier Honors College and other special student groups may have different move-in schedules. Members of these groups 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.

Please keep these things in mind …

Smoke-Free Policy
Please observe Longwood’s smoke-free policy. Smoking is permitted only in designated smoking areas on campus.

Arrival
—Arrive at your designated move-in time.
—Plan to report to the lobby or check-in location of your assigned residence hall.

Check-in
Staff will verify your student’s room assignment and identity. (Your student will need to provide photo  identification.) Staff will then will provide you with keys and other check-in material.  If you have made arrangements/ordered in advance, student IDs and parking permits will also be issued.

Parking Do’s and Don’ts
—Parking regulations are in effect year-round.
—Do not park on the grass.
—Move unloaded vehicles immediately to the appropriate student parking area. You can find your designated parking area here. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page.) In addition, personnel will be providing directions to your designated parking area as you exit the unloading area at your student’s residence hall or other Longwood-managed housing.
—Vehicles that park on campus anywhere other than their designated parking areas will be ticketed and/or towed.

Unpacking/Rearranging
—Do not drag personal belongings or university furniture across the floors in the residence halls. Please respect the hard work of our housekeeping staff.
—All Longwood issued room furniture must stay in the assigned room/apartment.

Maintenance and Housekeeping
Report any maintenance or housekeeping needs online with a work order.

Cleanup/Safety
—All cardboard should be crushed and taken outside to the designated recycling sites (look for the large dumpsters).
—Do not obstruct the walkways or stairways with your personal belongings or trash. Think fire and personal injury prevention!

—Sabrina Brown

Safety is a top concern at Longwood, and the university is always looking for ways to improve and expand the measures we’re taking to help keep everyone safe.

New Emergency Alerts Platform and Safety App

One of the latest advances is a new emergency alerts platform that was implemented this summer and is available to parents as well as students.

The new system is more versatile than its predecessor and has expanded capabilities for notifying the campus community of important safety information. Parents are welcome to sign up for these alerts, which will be sent through a variety of channels, including text, email and our alerts.longwood.edu webpage.

The new system will not import previous participants, so, if you were receiving alerts through the old system, you’ll need to sign up again (see next paragraph) to continue receiving alerts.

To sign up for text alerts, just text LUALERTS to 226787. This will enter your mobile phone number into the system, and you will receive all text message alerts that are sent out. These are the same alerts that go out to students.

Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to 226787 to cancel messages.  For additional support, text INFO or HELP to 226787 at any time.  For full terms and conditions, visit https://getrave.com/help/Terms.action

For all other notifications, you—and your student—can download the new Longwood Ready app. It’s free and can be found in your app store by searching “Longwood Ready.” The app has an array of helpful safety information and features, including

—A feature called Friend Walk that allows you to virtually “walk your student” to their destination
—One-touch emergency calling
—Mental health information and resources
—Push notifications

If you have trouble downloading the Longwood Ready app, please email questions@longwood.edu, and we’ll do our best to help you solve the problem. (Be sure to turn on notifications once you’ve downloaded Longwood Ready.)

This Ladder Goes All the Way Up

Longwood has a long history of cooperation and support for the Farmville Fire Department. The strong community partnership between the two entities reaches back at least 45 years, when the university was instrumental in helping the department purchase a custom-built ladder-tower truck in 1978, primarily to protect the students living in Longwood’s high-rise residence halls.

That original ladder truck was replaced in 2005, when the university donated $100,000 toward the purchase of a new truck with a 105-foot aerial ladder. Purchased specifically to reach the roofs of Moss and Johns halls, it was on campus recently for a firefighter training staged at those residence halls with crews from the fire departments in Farmville and nearby Hampden-Sydney.

Other Safety Features

You can find out more about Longwood’s safety measures on the safety webpage and the page detailing campus security operations. Here are a few highlights:
—Residential and Commuter Life (RCL) organizes an Annual Campus Safety Walk (see photo at top) as part of a continuous safety improvement process for the university.
—All LUPD officers are police academy-trained and sworn.
—LUPD operates more than 450 security cameras that keep an eye on Longwood properties.
—More than 50 blue light emergency phones across campus and at Longwood-managed housing complexes are GPS tagged and provide a direct link to the local 911 center.
—The State Fire Marshal inspects approximately 20 percent of residence hall rooms each year to ensure that room occupants are living safely.

—Sabrina Brown

The Longwood community had the happy task last week of showing new students and their parents the ropes during Orientation.

My job as editor of the alumni magazine and this blog doesn’t directly involve Orientation, but I always enjoy seeing new students and their families during Orientation week.

I hope those of you who are parents of new Longwood students found the answers to your questions and felt reassured that your Lancer will be in good hands when you deliver them to campus next month. In my experience of working at several universities, both public and private, Longwood faculty and staff are among the most caring. They are truly committed to students’ success, both in and outside the classroom.

To the parents of returning students: The excitement surrounding your Lancers’ return to campus is definitely ramping up. We have missed our students this summer!

A traditional kickoff to fall semester

Preparations for the fall semester are in full swing. Especially notable are events on Aug. 25:  The G.A.M.E., a march to the sports complex for a game and distribution of this year’s Lancer scarf, and First Friday Back, which will include a pep rally in Longwood’s stunning new Joan Perry Brock Center. (The Brock Center officially opens Aug. 25 and will be the home of our basketball teams and a venue for campus ceremonies and events.)

The new Joan Perry Brock Center, with its arches and white facade, will be the home of Lancer basketball and a venue for ceremonies, concerts and other events.

How to get a Lancer scarf

If you have the chance, please let your student know that to get their Lancer scarf they first need to get a wristband, which can be exchanged for a scarf at the sports complex. Wristbands will be distributed on Aug. 25: New students can get theirs from noon-3 p.m. in front of Lankford Hall; upper-class students can get theirs from 3:15-5:30 p.m. in front of Greenwood Library.

Family Weekend

Also, leaving your student at college for the first time—or even for the last time—can be an adjustment. So mark your calendars for Family Weekend, Sept. 15-16. This is a perfect reason for you to come back to campus—other than just missing your student—to have a few more hours with them and get another hug. Keep an eye on the Longwood website and this blog for more information about registration and planned activities.

Have questions? Get answers here

Finally, if you have questions related to the start of the fall semester (or anything else), send them to questions@longwood.edu and someone will get back to you.

—Sabrina Brown

The 2022-23 academic year officially wrapped up this past weekend with Commencement ceremonies for students receiving undergraduate degrees on Saturday and graduate degrees on Friday. The campus was dressed up as much as the Class of 2023 and their guests, and the weather could not have been more perfect, especially for Saturday’s outdoor ceremony. What beautiful, happy days!

For those of you whose students received degrees, Congratulations! You might just find a familiar face in one of the photo galleries or the video below.

For those of you whose students are still working toward their diplomas, you can see what’s in store for you and your Lancer in the future.

I hope you and your students have a wonderful summer.

—Sabrina Brown

Commencement 2023 Video

Undergraduate Commencement

Graduate Commencement

I’m a writer, so I believe in the power of the written word. But photographers and videographers also are amazing storytellers. Below are a few visual highlights from the spring semester.

Just What the Doctor Ordered: Fun

When students need a break before the final sprint to exams and the end of the semester, Spring Weekend can be just what the doctor ordered.

Many student organizations set up fundraising booths, offering food or pay-to-play games. There are performances by student groups and live music. And it wouldn’t be Spring Weekend without oozeball. See for yourself why students love this Longwood tradition.

Show and Tell on a Much Higher Level

Twice a year Longwood dedicates an entire day to student research and scholarly activities. Through oral presentations, poster sessions, live performances and more, students show off their “muscles” in their areas of study.

The variety of topics is truly impressive, as you can see in this video and these photos from the Spring 2023 Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry.

Stress-Lowering Treatment in a Fur Coat

It’s pretty well-known that final exams can be stressful. Also well-known is that interacting with a friendly, tail-wagging canine can help reduce stress.

So when exams roll around, so does Study Paws. Faculty and staff bring their dogs to campus, and students gather for a furry therapy session. Take a look.

Putting a Ring On It

Just before Christmas, I posted some information about how to buy your student a Longwood class ring. What makes this gift even more special is the Ring Ceremony. Held in the spring, the event starts with the rings spending the night in the Rotunda.

The next day, family are invited to be on hand as the rings are presented. This year Vice President for Student Affairs Cameron Patterson ’10, M.S. ’17, was there to receive his own Longwood ring.

—Sabrina Brown

The longer I work in higher education, the faster the years seem to go by. I keep looking at the calendar and wondering how it’s already the end of the academic year.

I sincerely hope this year has been productive, enlightening and fun for your student. I have worked for several universities, and I can honestly say that Longwood students are special. They are friendly, caring, unpretentious, talented and hard-working. In short, they are a joy to be around. What I often say is that Longwood students were raised right. You have good reason to be proud.

And special congratulations to those of you whose students will be graduating in May! The undergraduate ceremony is set for Saturday, May 20.

I hope the information below will make the moving-out process a little easier for those of you whose students live in Longwood-managed housing.

Moving Out

Residence halls close at noon on Saturday, May 6.
Except for the groups mentioned below, all students must depart their residences within 24 hours of the conclusion of their last spring 2023 exams or by noon on Saturday, May 6, whichever comes first.

The following students may remain on campus after noon on May 6*:
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 6 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 20.

Helpful Hints

—Do not drive or park on the grass.
—Do not park in the nearby lots for private businesses. These lots are TOW-AWAY ZONES at all times, including weekends.
—Farmville Area Bus (FAB) service ends at 6 p.m. Friday, May 5.
—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 a local clothes closet.Collection boxes are available in Moss and Johns halls, Lancer Park and other locations. For more information, contact steelecl@longwood.edu.

Checkout Process 

Remove all belongings. Residents must remove all personal items from their assigned space or any other areas of their 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. Residents should be sure to double-check their unit and remove all personal items prior to departing campus.
Using checkout 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 and perishable food.
—Thoroughly clean the unit, including the bathroom and common spaces.
—Remove all personal items (medication, electronic devices, eyeglasses, wallet, etc.).
—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 Moss and Johns halls will be closed from Wednesday, May 3, through Saturday, May 6.
—In order to access Spruce Street, enter Wynne Drive to Pine Street and turn onto the sidewalk in front of the Fitness Center.
—Spruce Street and Redford Streetwill be open for exit only (one-way traffic) onto South Main Street from Thursday, May 4, through Saturday, May 6. Do not enter campus at Redford Street from South Main Street.
—U-turns will be permitted on Spruce Street, if/when the construction gates are closed.

—Sabrina Brown