A Message for Parents
Dear Parents of LC Students,
Welcome to another year of the Lynchburg College experience! As you know, the Lynchburg College community is tight-knit and caring. We work extremely hard to offer a value-added educational experience to your Lynchburg College student. We offer programs and activities that support and complement their academic interests. We strive to provide a safe and secure environment, and we work to empower students to take responsibility for this community, their actions, and their learning. At Lynchburg College, we see this relationship as a partnership, and all partnerships require both parties to contribute equally to the task. All students must see themselves as a critical part of this community. If they miss class, fail to turn in an assignment, or don’t follow through on a task for an organization, then they have not only let themselves down, they have also let their fellow students down.
This generation of students stays in pretty close contact with you, the parent. In many ways, this can be a positive outlet for questions and frustrations, as well as the sharing of joys and accomplishments. I’m sure there will be nights when you get an ear full and will naturally want to help them. As a parent, the hardest thing that I had to do was step back and let my kids (all three of them) run into a wall (often one I warned them about), bounce off of it, cry a little, and then begin to piece together how they might better approach that obstacle in their life. As a parent, I have picked them up, dusted them off, listened to them, helped them explore what actually happened (often interjecting perceptions other than their own), generated possible options, and then quietly patted them on the back and sent them off. Sometimes they hit the same wall a few times before they figured things out. (My wife often assigned that particular trait to my gene pool.) But ultimately, they learned because they figured it out themselves. In a nutshell, that is our philosophy here at Lynchburg College.
The tabs on the right-hand side of the web page link to explanations of our legal and institutional obligations and limitations related to what we can and cannot share with you. However, even when we are limited in what we can say, we can always listen. We can always share information about Lynchburg College policies and procedures. We can always give our general impressions and helpful advice. The bottom line is that, as parents, you have had more experience with your student than we have; you know him/her in a much different way spanning many more years. As you talk with your student in those late night phone conversations, you might ask some of the following questions:
- Have you talked to the person who you are having trouble with? How did it go?
- Have you sought advice and direction? From whom? How did it go? What did they tell you?
- What do you see as your options?
- Have you discussed this issue with Residence Life, your Connection Leader, Campus Safety and Security, your coach, your favorite professor, your academic advisor?
- Have you talked with someone in the Health Center, the Counseling Center, the Chaplain’s Office?
- What do you want to do? What is your timeline for action?
Here at Lynchburg College, there is always someone willing to help. There are always options. On rare occasions, you will have red lights going off in the “Parent Worried” Center of your brain. You will try to sleep, try to eat, but the warning lights will not cease: “Danger Will Robinson! Warning! Warning!” When you experience such warning signs and anxiety, please contact someone at Lynchburg College with whom you are familiar. We will listen to you, hear your concerns, and suggest options. Our paramount concern is the safety and well-being of our students. You can always call the Dean of Students Office and talk with me or one of the other staff members. Of course, these warning lights generally go off late at night and/or over the weekend. If that is the case, there are still resources available to you. If it is a safety issue please direct your son or daughter to Campus Safety and Security and/or Residence Life. We have personnel on call 24/7 and will respond to your concerns as best we can. Of course, if you just want to call and tell us how much your son or daughter is thriving at LC, we’ll take that call, too.
Thank you for sharing your daughters and sons with us. We are privileged to be a part of their development. I have been at Lynchburg College since 1986, and I have found no community that focuses on the development of students more than we do. (Of course I’m biased!) We change lives but our lives are changed also. We look forward to a life-long relationship with our students and with you, too!
Sincerely,
John Eccles
Vice President and Dean for Student Development
