Longwood University History faculty gathered with students on Stubbs Mall to watch the cross-campus debate. L to R: Robert Scheid, Jason Dryer, Hallie Robertson, Dr. Yulia Uryadova, Dr. Melissa Kravetz, Dr. David Geraghty.
The whole Longwood campus and community were vitally involved in the success of hosting the 2017 Vice Presidential Debate, but the students and professors of the Dept. of History, Political Science, and Philosophy especially enjoyed the spotlight thanks to the intersection of research and active citizenship.
It was only fitting since the idea of hosting the debate first came up in Fall 2014 during the American Presidency course co-taught by Prof. Bill Harbour and Longwood Pres. Taylor Reveley IV. "It was a student who first put the idea up," said Harbour. "While we were discussing the recent role of presidential debates, someone said, 'Why not Longwood?' Well, that triggered a lot of discussion, which kept going after class let out." From there, Reveley's office followed up and launched the successful bid.
That motivation continued to play out, especially as the debate approached. "Our majors made up one of the largest contingents of student volunteers," said Harbour.
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Sydney Hughes of Danville was among the many volunteers. Besides her role monitoring those entering the debate's secures areas, Sydney found herself being interviewed multiple times about her involvement, first by ABC-8 of Richmond, then by several online media outlets, plus brief cameos on Fox and Friends, MSNBC, and CNN.
As part of her interview, Sydney spoke of the importance of political participation. Freshman political science major Berley Peterson told USAToday that he was already involved, but the first-hand experience deepened his understanding of the larger processes.
Among the standout representatives for Longwood's students, were the examples set by the respective presidents of the College Democrats and College Republicans, Joe Hyman and Malina Foldesi. In multiple venues, such as CNN, USAToday, or The Virginian-Pilot, the two students got their message out: serious political engagement can be had, even with opponents, without descending to rancor and mud-slinging. They didn't mince words: it is time for the "adult" contenders to consider the respectful habits being modeled by younger entrants into the politics of democracy. Canon Cochrane, the vice-president of the College Republicans, joined Hyman on CNN for their own version of the debate.
A large part of the appeal in Longwood's bid lay in how the university sits at the intersection of several critical arcs in American history. At the north end of campus, Confederate and Union armies passed by Ruffner on their way to Appomattox Courthouse. At the other end of campus, a huge spark in the modern civil rights struggle occurred with the student walkout from the Moton High School, the former African-American high school of the segregation era.
Dr. Larissa Fergeson in conjunction with many affiliated with the Moton Museum put together a Civil Rights Walking Tour that drew the attention of many, including ABCNews and candidate Tim Kaine. Many current students and alumni will recognize Rev. Everett Berryman as one of the leaders of the tour. As a lifelong learner, Berryman has regularly audited classes at Longwood.