The City of Spires

by Thomas O. Robbins ’04     (Thom Robbins in front of Tom Tower at Christ Church, Oxford) For almost a millennium, the University of Oxford has offered an unsurpassed education to students from around the world. For six weeks, eight Hampden-Sydney students (Will Albright, Mack Crockett, Dave McDonald, Preston Pittman, Thom Robbins, Mike Roberts, Teelo Rutledge, and Larry Wilkes) made their home in “The City of Spires” as part of the Virginia Program at Oxford. The Virginia Program at Oxford (VPO) is an intercollegiate summer program comprised of students from Hampden-Sydney and five other Virginia colleges and is the oldest […]

My Big Fat Greek May Term

By Jonathan Miyashiro ’06It’s our last day in Greece, and I’m about to be arrested right here on the Acropolis.   “Give me the cassette or I’ll call the police,” said an irate curator. How did I ever get into this mess? The May Term Greece group left Richmond on May 12, oddly enough encountering Professors Dubroff and Kagan, headed off on a skiing trip.  After an exhausting flight to New York and then to Athens, we met up with Dr. Arieti, who had gone ahead to get our affairs in order.  Our group consisted of Dr. Roger Barrus, his […]

H-SC Students Conclude an Unforgettable Experience in Spain

by Wesley R. Sholtes ’05 From May 17 to June 21, 2003, Assistant Professor of Modern Languages Dieudonne Afatsawo, Lecturer in Modern Languages Keith Sprouse, and fifteen Hampden-Sydney students spent an arduous, but highly enjoyable, May Term Study Abroad program in Alcala de Henares, Spain.   The program, which combined the teaching styles of native Spanish-speaking professors with those of Afatsawo and Sprouse, included three hours of class each morning and several excursion trips.  In order to maximize their immersion into the language and culture of Spain, students also stayed with host families who only spoke Spanish.    Among the noteworthy […]

Costa Rica: anything but “plain and simple”

by J. Devin Watson ’06Dr. Maria C. Yaber recently took twelve Hampden-Sydney men to Costa Rica for a tropical biology class.  We studied the various plants and animals found in three tropical forests located throughout the country, spending a total of sixteen days in Costa Rica.  All of our research was conducted at three biological stations run by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), which also offers several graduate and undergraduate classes at the three stations.   After a week of preparation at Hampden-Sydney, we left early on the morning of May 25 from Raleigh-Durham Airport.  After a quick one-hour […]

May Term in France

by Joe Webb ’03 Photos by Professor Bob Blackman  From May 26 to June 13, fourteen HSC students, including myself, spent May Term in Paris with Professors Joan E. McRae, Ray Kleinlein of Davidson College (husband of Professor McRae), and Bob Blackman. The purpose of this May Term experience was to learn that the French really do not despise Americans, only the rude ones. With that in mind, everyone got the chance to learn about French culture, history, and art.    The culture part, which was taught by our fearless leader, Dr. Joan E. McRae, was a means to experience […]