Campus

Ali Morrison ~ Assistant News Editor

The University of Lynchburg celebrated Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lenten season celebrated by many christian religions, with an ‘Ashes on the Go’ service.

The receiving of ashes kicks off Lent, the season leading up to Easter, and symbolizes becoming anew, signaling the hope that is about to come. Ash Wednesday is commemorated through a church service, which can sometimes be hard for people to attend.

This includes students and staff who tend to be busy this time of year, making the receiving of ashes more difficult. 

‘Ashes on the Go’, created about two years ago, to allow the campus community an opportunity to commune.

Ali Morrison ~ Assistant News Editor

Mold has been an issue amongst residential students at the University of Lynchburg for some time, causing health concerns for some students. 

While Maintenance and the Housing and Residence Life Department are fighting to get this taken care of, the mold’s existence is still there. 

Courtney Kelsey, Director of Housing and Residence Life says there have been eight work orders filed this school year, some of which were actually dust mistaken as mold. 

“At this time, all rooms and residences that have been brought to the attention of our office have been addressed,” Kelsey said. Even though they are categorized as already being dealt with, this is not necessarily the case for many of the houses and apartments here on campus. 

Junior, Lilly Fraley is one of those that has mold concerns within her residence. “It’s been such an issue for our house. We put in a work order and for the past two and a half weeks nothing has been done,” said Fraley.

Alyssa Wilson ~ Editor-in-Chief 

Although the University of Lynchburg recently announced a steep deficit, the President of the institution is not worried about a decline in the student experience, having faith in the faculty and staff of the University to contribute to this effort. 

On Dec. 15, 2022 President Alison Morrison-Shetlar and Provost Allison Jablonski hosted a town hall meeting for faculty and staff, laying out the strategies being put into place to ensure future and current financial security. 

Universities nationwide are suffering from deficits due to COVID-19 in addition to general enrollment decline and funding issues, so the University of Lynchburg is not the only institution experiencing financial difficulties. 

“I would like to say that we are in a much better place than so many other institutions, and we’ve got a great strategy in place,” says Morrison-Shetlar. “It will not impact the student experience negatively, in fact we’re looking to enhance the student experience.” 

Alyssa Wilson ~ Editor-in-Chief 

The position for the Dean of the Lynchburg College of Arts and Sciences has been vacant for nearly three years, requiring big shoes to fill as the University of Lynchburg’s largest college. 

Dr. Sabita Manian, the current associate dean of social sciences, has recently been chosen to lead the college’s 750 majors and faculty.

As the University grapples with its recently announced deficit, the institution has to implement consolidation efforts and changes across all departments, including among its leadership.

Ali Morrison ~ Assistant News Editor

In recent weeks, the University of Lynchburg has reported several trespassing violations including a stolen car and a reportedly “suspicious” person in the Knight-Capron library.

 The institution is surrounded by local neighborhoods and has an open campus this is accessible to the wider Lynchburg community.

Potential trespassers are deemed “suspicious” by the person reporting an incident, and Campus Safety and Security does not have criteria for what makes a person suspicious or not. 

Esteban Soto, chief of Safety and Security says, “There are no characteristics that a person must meet to be suspicious. We respond to all calls, assess the situation and then take whatever action necessary.”

All visitors are first given a warning to leave if they are causing a distraction, and if this order is not followed, the visitor is arrested.

Jordan Abbott~ Guest Writer

Many believe mid-February to be the season of romance and affection, but it is also a time nationally dedicated to performing random acts of kindness. 

Random acts of kindness is a phrase that was first coined by Ohio-native journalist and author Anne Herbert in 1982. 

National Random Acts of Kindness Day was established in 1995 by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, and is celebrated annually on February 17th.

The random acts of kindness movement inspired by Herbert has led to the creation of charity organizations, television shows, books, websites, and more, all with the intention of doing good deeds without the expectation of anything in return.