Roanoke College Students Build a House

Roanoke is a small and beloved city in southwestern Virginia. Natives pronounce that “Roe-noke” with the accent on “Roe”. There is no ‘a’ in Roanoke, despite its spelling.

Roanoke College (in nearby Salem) is nicely named, having the modesty to refuse to join the fad of grabbing the “University” appellation back when everyone else was doing it. Most universities in this country are really colleges and should have remained so. But then higher education is a big business now, so of course inflated terms are to be expected. If parents have to shell out twenty thousand dollars for junior’s education, it had better be at a “university”, no?

One of the nice things about Roanoke College is its tradition of “Service Day” Projects. All students participate in community service — an idea that ought to be adopted by other schools…for example, the University of Virginia sure could use some mandatory service time for its incoming freshmen. Perhaps that would cut down on the alcohol syndrome in Charlottesville. Or maybe not. Another fraternity chapter was closed there recently.

This year, the returning students are putting together a house for Habitat for Humanity. In five days the house will be built on campus and then moved eventually to the nearby town of Salem.

What a way to start the academic year! Imagine a school which practices the old idea of education: mens sana in corpore sano.


Hat tip: PJ Media