The students at Patrick Henry College have a wide variety of interests ranging from cooking pasta to dancing hip-hop in the gym. And that’s not an exaggeration.For a period of time, there was a group of students who took a few hours out of their week to attend “pasta Tuesday.” Here students would cook themselves a plate of pasta, experimenting with cheeses and noodles and the wide spectrum of combinations of the two. It might sound rather eccentric, but honestly it’s symptomatic of one of the best parts of student life here at Patrick Henry College.
Here’s the great think about the community at Patrick Henry College: it’s small enough but also sufficiently active to make events and interests groups to become their own self-sustaining communities inside of the broader student body. Chances are, if you—as a student—enjoy hiking or swimming or knitting, there’s probably a group of students that enjoy it too and would love to join you in whatever that particular activity happens to be.
Here’s a few of the more well-established ways in which the student body at Patrick Henry College bands together to peruse their interests.
Shall we dance
It’s not a question—it’s a group of students that form a weekly dance club at Patrick Henry College. It used to happen every Saturday night, but due to class scheduling changes now it happens on Friday afternoons. It doesn’t matter, they aren’t any less enthusiastic about Fridays. It’s not very formal; it consists of two loud-speakers, one experienced dancer, and a number of inexperienced pupils.
The shall we dance society teaches (among other things) west-side swing, waltz, polka, even a little bit of Irish dance. It’s always a good time, but, more importantly, it’s preparation for the end of the year dances. It’s one of Patrick Henry College’s quirks. Its students love these high-end social affairs with dancing, live bands, and formal attire. But in order to comfortably attend such events, one must first be able to dance confidently.
Shall We Dance has surely saved a number of students from dancing illiteracy and social awkwardness. More than that, however, it’s just really fun and a pragmatic way to relax. If you don’t make it a habit to dance on a frequent basis, you might find it surprising that it’s actually quite energy-consuming. It’s just spinning around in circles to a beat, but after an hour or so, it can get really tiring.
Regardless of whether students at Patrick Henry College attend shall we dance because they just need a bit of exercise or because they are preparing to go to a dance, they will have a fun time along the way.
Author Bio
Leo Briceno is currently studying Political Journalism at Patrick Henry College; a classical Christian liberal arts college in Purcellville, Virginia. Leo has grown up in Norther Virginia and after graduation, plans to stay in the area to work in the news industry in Washington D.C.