News

By Jordan Abbott ~ Guest Writer

The University of Lynchburg theatre department’s fall production of Clue will be held Thursday, October 20th through Saturday, October 22nd in Dillard Fine Arts Center’s Hailey Theatre. 

All showings will be at 7:30 p.m..

The play is based on a screenplay by Jonathan Lynn and was written by Sandy Rustin. 

Clue is based on the popular board game of the same name. 

Clue is a historical murder mystery, and tells the story of real events that occured in the US during the 1950’s, through the stories of fictional characters. 

The production is directed by theatre professor and chair of the theatre department, Jeff Wittman.

Sophomore cast member Nico Thomas says he is most looking forward to playing Colonel Mustard. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever played someone as fun as him. You never know what he’s going to do or say. Also, his interactions with other characters never fail to cause any confusion, laughter, or just awkwardness,” says Thomas. 

The Clue cast has been rehearsing since the beginning of the semester. 

Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor

Within the past few weeks, the University of Lynchburg has seen a rise in the  number of crimes that are affecting the safety and security of  students.

Since the beginning of the semester there have been several incidents of larceny and homes being broken into on campus.

In addition to these crimes, there have also been several instances of indecent exposure that happened inside the Knight-Capron Library and on College Drive.

Campus Safety & Security released a photo of one of the suspects who committed indecent exposure and although he has been spotted on campus, the suspect ran away from security before they could catch him.

Campus security sent an alert on October 12th, stating that there had been many cars broken into with items stolen with one of those cars having been stolen itself.

The message continued to state that crimes like these can be avoided by keeping valuables out of vehicles and keeping these vehicles locked.

By Jordan Abbott ~ Guest Writer

Over the summer, Housing and Residence Life (HRL) at the University of Lynchburg, made changes to policies, practices, and job descriptions of the position formerly known as “resident assistant.” 

“ In the change of name from resident assistant to community assistant, HRL believes that we are a community. The programming and the stuff we do together forms a community, it makes us a community. So instead of just calling me a resident assistant, just call me a community assistant,” says junior community assistant Mary Otu Okley, who has been a CA since the second semester of her freshman year. 

Housing and Residence Life also welcomed several new community assistants, including sophomore Chanel Smith. 

Smith admits she was skeptical about applying for the position at first, but she is grateful she did. 

“I think my favorite part is just getting to see different people’s perspectives on campus life. Especially just getting to talk every single day with a different person, seeing what their schedule is, and just being there for people,” says Smith.  

Though being a CA has many benefits, there are also challenging aspects of the position. 

By Caroline Gilmore ~ Marketing Manager

Throughout the past week, students at the University of Lynchburg have complained of internet connectivity issues to professors and Information Technology & Resources (ITR).

On Tuesday, Oct. 18th, at around 1 p.m., ITR announced that they had resolved a connection issue. If students are having trouble connecting, they should forget the UL-Wifi network and re-add it to their device.

According to Jane-Ellen Miller, Interim Chief Informational Officer and head of ITR, the instructions in the email “solved one of the larger issues” and ITR is “still working on a couple of others.”

On top of the maintenance that happened on Tuesday, maintenance will also be conducted early morning on the day of publishing, Wednesday Oct. 19th, on multiple wireless access points. 

Written by Alyssa Wilson ~ Editor-in-Chief

A group of yearbook students from Rustburg Middle School visited the University of Lynchburg for a special tour of the campus and the resources in the Communication Studies department. 

Advisor for the RMS yearbook staff, Kelly Elder wanted to bring her students on a field trip that would enrich their yearbook experience and help them to learn more about what goes into creating a piece of work that is disseminated to a wide audience, like the yearbook. 

Originally, Elder wanted to take her students to the Herff Jones yearbook training in Richmond, VA at the end of September. However, Rustburg Middle School administration did not approve the field trip due to it being too far from the school. 

When her request was denied, Elder decided to reach out to the University of Lynchburg in the hopes that by being closer to town, her students would be able to attend a field trip that would hopefully improve their yearbook experience. 

“I hope they understand that it’s[making the yearbook] not something that’s simple. It’s a process and you have to keep working through it and refining it. I hope they enjoyed looking at the campus and getting a feel for what college might be like,” Elder says. 

All of the students on staff are in the eighth grade, and for the majority of them, the yearbook was not the first elective they chose when they were making class schedules in the spring. However, they all enjoy it more than they thought they would. 

“So last year I wasn’t in yearbook, but at first I didn’t choose yearbook as my elective. This year I got put in it and it’s not that bad,” says eighth grader Cherish McDaniels. 

Written by Alyssa Wilson ~ Editor-in-Chief 

The University of Lynchburg held its first Black alumni weekend, which included many events from networking opportunities to a gala for all students and alumni. 

This historic weekend was achievable due to the Helen Mundy Witt Society, a society of Black alumni and current students that honors Witt, the first Black student to graduate from the University, then Lynchburg College at the time of her graduation. 

On Saturday night, Sept. 24 a gala was hosted with food, music, and a multitude of speakers who spoke on the weekend theme of ‘Accepting the Assignment’.

As this was the University’s first Black alumni weekend, there was a heavy emphasis at the gala about the importance of accepting the assignment and going further than just what was discussed during the weekend, but expanding discussion of what it’s like to be Black at Lynchburg beyond the event.

“Thank you to all of the alumni who put this weekend together,” says President Alison Morrison-Shetlar, “We need to be celebrating our diversity more on our campus and you all have left a legacy, a footprint, for millennia to come.”

President Morrison-Shetlar opened the event with a speech that challenged alumni and students to get to know each other and connect on the reasons why they chose to go to Lynchburg and have the Lynchburg experience. 

Assistant Editor ~ Em Maxey 

The Virginia 10 Miler was held this weekend in the neighborhoods surrounding Rivermont Avenue and some residents who were unaware of the event were left stuck at home. 

The Virginia 10 Miler went from Rivermont Avenue through the Langhorne Road intersection and ending at Riverside Park. 

Several residents were trapped in the apartment complexes and houses on North and West Princeton Circle, Randolph College and the neighboring roads. 

Communities like Princeton Circle West Apartments that have no alternative route except through Rivermont were more impacted than other communities.