While some schools are cutting funding for the Classics, Virginia Wesleyan has recently introduced a new Classics program. The college considers it to be a program, not a department, because the school does not offer a degree in Classics yet. The Classics consist of works from ancient Greece and ancient Rome. “It is very distinctive to get a Classics program started when many schools are cutting it,” said Assistant Professor of Classics Ed Gutting. “The school wants to see what the demand is, and then construct the major.” Loyola University in Chicago just cut funding for its Classics program. Gutting, who has his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago and postgraduate degrees from Princeton University and Oxford University, considers the Classics to be an original example of the liberal arts. “Students study everything in the Classics,” said Gutting. “The spirit of the liberal arts fits the Classics perfectly. Students are exposed to everything, and it trains you for anything you need to do.”

According to Gutting, from a public relations perspective, the school received some press about the new program. A trade journal for classicists mentioned Virginia Wesleyan because it recently started a Classics program. Currently Mythology, Roman Civilizations and Latin (a language course) are being offered. Three of the four classes have never been offered before. Next semester the college will offer second semester Latin, Women in the Ancient World and Epic Universals. Gutting says Women in the Ancient World is a social history class, which is being offered in the daytime and as an Adult Studies Program evening class. Epic Universals is a literature poetry class where students will read poetry from ancient civilizations. While many people feel that a Classics major is impractical, students with a Classics major can do just about anything, according to Gutting. “It is not an easy major, so it has a good reputation with professional schools,” said Gutting. Lawyers, advertising executives, businessmen, doctors and teachers at all levels have degrees in the Classics. As for internships in the Classics field, Gutting said that students can intern in areas that interest them. For example, a background in the Classics would help potential lawyers and doctors due to the terminology involved. In law, many legal terms are in Latin, and pharmacists use Latin abbreviations for prescription pads. The abbreviation for three times a day comes from Latin, said Gutting.

“A Classics intern who is interested in the medical field could pick up the abbreviations quickly,” said Gutting. Gutting, who is new this year to Wesleyan, is presently the only professor of Classics. He is a first- time professor who was a Latin teaching assistant at Princeton University. This semester there are 75 students enrolled in the four Classics classes. Some are interested in taking more classes and seek further opportunities to study the ancient world, said Gutting. “The fact there are 75 students who want to take the Classics this semester speaks well,” said Gutting. “I am a new professor with no reputation, so these students took these classes on a cold-calling. It is good to get a following.” To add to the Classics program, the library took a grant from the Hofheimer Fund to purchase The Lobe Library, which contains almost every Greek and Latin text with translations. It is the most complete single library collection of the Classics. “It shows how serious the school and the library are about the program,” said Gutting. “We can see how far we can take it. Students are very enthusiastic and we (the college) can expect to grow.”

The library has always been prone to leaks, and the latest leak has caused the magazine shelf to be covered by a sheet of plastic. Built in 1966, the Hofheimer Library has had a chronic leakage problem. While the building won design awards when it was built, the flat roof causes the building to leak. “It’s got a flat roof that doesn’t allow water to run off,” said Library Director Jan Pace. “The water collects around the sky lights, and it is hard to track down.” Maintenance has tried to reseal the skylights. They scrape, replaster and paint, but the leaks continue to happen, according to Pace. “It is not the physical plant’s fault for lack of trying,” said Pace.

The corners of the library have had leaks as well, and the library staff has had to use trash cans to collect the water. The physical plant has taken care of huge leaks in the past. “It is an ongoing problem,” said Pace. “When one leak gets fixed, another part of the roof starts to leak. A new roof is an expensive proposition. It would cost as much as a new building.” Currently plastic covers the entire magazine shelf. The school fully intended to scrape the sky- lights and reseal the tops over the summer, but the rental company was unable to get the proper equipment inside the building, said Pace. In years past, rental companies have built scaffolds in the library to fix the leaks. The school has also hired a roofing company to fix the problem, and the company did what it could do. “The leaks have improved with time,” said Pace. Although the roof leaks, the books seem to be spared. “We have been extremely fortunate in that we have lost very little material,” said Pace. “No books have been damaged to speak of. The leaks occur and hit the carpet. Everything else seems to dodge the bullet.” Rather than worrying about the books, Pace worries about the students. “I worry about the plaster falling on somebody,” said Pace. “Although it’s not like bricks falling down, I wouldn’t want to walk in a building and have things fall on me.” Along with maintenance, security has also been helpful. Security strategically places trash cans under the leaks when it rains, said Pace.

When students moved into the dormitories, they had to sign a Housing Agreement that stated, “damage to public areas, furnishing, equipment, or college housing facilities which cannot be charged to any individual(s) will be pro-rated between all residents of the floor or hall as appropriate.” In other words, when damage is done to a residence hall and the perpetrator cannot be identified, the cost is divided among all residents on the hall. “After the preliminary investigation, everyone is notified by a letter from me,” said Director of Residence Life Keith Moore. “It states what the damage is, when the damage occurred, it quotes the housing agreement, tells the total cost of replacement and repairs and the cost the students need to pay.” The price for most repairs is not too excessive, so students do not pay too much, according to Moore. “When damage is done, it needs to be repaired, and it is usually cheap,” said Moore. “The money needs to come from somewhere, and we need to do the next best thing.” He said he wants to find the perpetrator before the whole hall has to pay for damages. The most recent incident was vandalism committed on the first floor of South Hall in September. “When someone does something stupid, the perpetrator has an audience to get a kick out of it,” said Moore. “There are at least two sets of eyes who witness it.”

He said that when more than one person is involved, it makes it easier for him to find the person who committed the acts. He said the policy helps him because it causes people who live on the hall to become frustrated with the damage done, and then they will hold the party accountable. That way, Moore says, word gets out and the perpetrator is known. He also added that this policy has worked many times before when they tried to find the perpetrator. Students have mixed reactions to the policy. “I personally don’t think it is fair. If one person takes on the responsibility to damage something, they should have enough responsibility to pay for it,”said freshman Erin Ferguson. “People should have respect for other’s things.” “It’s a good policy until someone breaks something,” added junior Justin Kirkland. Moore added that students should have respect and take pride in the community. However, someone who lives in the hall commonly does the acts, or has a visitor with them who damages the hall.