Hampden-Sydney College (H-SC) made the top 20 of the Most Active Student Government list included in The Princeton Review’s “The Best 382 Colleges” book that will be published August 2018.

As The Princeton Review indicates on its website, “our 62 annual college rankings lists are entirely based on what students attending the schools in our Best Colleges book tell us about their colleges and their experiences at them via our student survey for this project.”

Richard Pantele, H-SC’s associate dean of students for student engagement and judicial affairs, said that as an alumnus of the school, a former member of its student government and now its associate dean of students, “I believe with great conviction that our student government, which is bolstered by our incredible student body, is the strongest in the country.”

In a press release, the college highlighted a way in which its student government is active.

“Members of the Student Senate visited Washington, D.C. this summer to meet with U.S. Sen. Luther Strange of Alabama and discuss leadership in action,” school officials said.
The release pointed out some of the benefits students get from activities like the visit.

“During the meeting on Aug. 1, Sen. Strange talked about college life, the demands of representing an entire state with a single vote, perseverance in the face of strong opposition, effective leadership and the importance of clear communication,” H-SC officials said.

Hampden-Sydney Student Senate Chairman Lucian Bloodworth, a senior, is quoted in the release as saying that “Sen. Strange told us that the key to every successful leader is to stay true to one’s convictions but always remain cordial in the spirit of fierce debate.”

School officials added that “the Student Senate is planning additional trips to Capitol Hill this year so more student senators can gain valuable insights from elected officials at the federal level.”

It is likely activities similar to this Washington, D.C. visit that have enabled Hampden-Sydney students opportunities to work for legislators.

The release indicates that Strange’s chief of staff is Kevin Turner, a 2003 H-SC graduate, and that Bloodworth coordinated the visit with Turner and John March,

a 2017 Hampden-Sydney grad who works in the office of U.S. Rep. Tom Garrett, of Virginia.

Pantele noted that H-SC’s system of student government works so well for several reasons, one of which is the high character of its leaders and constituents.

“Hampden-Sydney’s Honor Code (which has stood the test of time and is held in high esteem by other institutions of higher learning), in conjunction with the Code of Conduct, are more than just words or rules for our students to abide by,” he said. “The ethics and values they instill become a part of the fabric of the character of each young man that enters through the gates of the college.”

He added that H-SC students apply these codes to every aspect of their lives.

“For the Hampden-Sydney man,” he said, “embracing a life of honor and virtue, as well as acting as a gentleman at all times and in all places requires dedication, enthusiasm and a fervent belief that by adopting these codes, you will become a good man and a good citizen, while inspiring others to do the same.”

Pantele said that because of the lessons taught by the Honor Code, H-SC students become dedicated to each other as brothers.

A dedication to his fellow students as his brothers is evident in the comments offered by Hampden-Sydney senior and Student Body President Sam Murphy, as well as the consequence of that dedication being the enhancement of the student experience.

“I am the Chief Executive of the student body, and I am entrusted with the welfare of the student body,” he said.

“I feel responsible and trusted by the Office of Student Affairs to do all that is within my power to manage all that lies within the term ‘welfare.’”